Summary
In order to portray the titular character in Max’s new series,The Penguin, Colin Farrell underwent a rather striking physical transformation. However, while some actors go on strenuous diets or start working out four times a day in order to change their body for their new role, Farrell went in a different direction.
The veteran actor - who will show off hisappearance again on September 19- donned a prosthetic body suit. In essence, it was the same outfit he wore inThe Batman,which not only made him look older but also changed his face and body to be more angular and look a bit more like the Penguin character DC fans are used to seeing.
Because the changes to Farrell’s body were purely cosmetic, and the Max series is grounded in reality, costume designers had to make the prosthetic suit look as realistic as possible. To bring that realism to the mannow known as Oz Cobb, they paid attention to every last detail, including making the suit anatomically correct.
The Penguin’s Prosthetic Suit Is Completely Anatomically Correct
Earlier this week, CinemaBlend took to the social media site X to show off a video where Farrell is talking about how accurate his Penguin suit was. In a funny exchange the actor claims that the suit even included some specially designed Penguin … private parts.
Fortunately for those tuning into thecritically acclaimed streaming series on Max, Farrell added that they never actually had to show just how anatomically correct the costume designers ended up making his prosthetics. However, that does indicate just how much of an attention to detail the creators of the series wanted to have. It’s clear they didn’t want fans to see Colin Farrell playing a guy inThe Penguin, they wanted people to see Oz Cobb walking and talking and doing various criminal acts.
The decision to go with the fully anatomically correct Penguin suit is especially interesting when considering that it’s not clear how many more times in the DCU he will show up. It’s expected Farrell will make a return inThe Batman 2. However, that hasn’t been confirmed just yet even if Matt Reeves did say theplans for a trilogyare still definitely in the works. It’s possible future installments in the series might look elsewhere for iconic villains to be involved. One case in point is the expectation thatThe Batman 2will focus on The Joker and move on from Riddler.
Of course, Farrell’s character wasn’t exactly a central figure in The Batman. He was just colorful enough that Max decided he needed to get his spinoff series. There is also an open question as to whether the series is one that will have a second or third season, or whether it will be viewed as a limited series to give Cobb more of a backstory in this more realistic Gotham City. Not knowing how much more audiences will see of the mobster made the show’s Thursday night debut that much more anticipated.
The Penguindebuted on Max on September 19.
The Penguin
Set in Matt Reeves' Batman Universe, one week after the events of The Batman, this is the origin story of Oswald Cobb, AKA The Penguin, one of Gotham City’s most notorious crime bosses. Presented by HBO Max. Starring Colin Farrell.
