A new photo from the Batgirl set in Glasgow suggests that the Burtonverse Penguin played by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns could be alive in the DCEU.
A recent photo of a prop newspaper from the set of Batgirl could indicate that the Danny DeVito incarnation of The Penguin is alive and exists in the DCEU. Batgirl is currently filming in Glasgow and stars Leslie Grace as the titular crimefighter. It also features Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman from Tim Burton’s Batman, its sequel Batman Returns and the soon to be released Flash movie. Other featured actors include J.K Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon from both cuts of the DCEU Justice League movie, and Brendan Fraser as the villainous Firefly, his second DC role after playing Robotman in HBO Max’s Doom Patrol.
The upcoming Flash movie, based on the popular Flashpoint comic, is set to introduce some major changes to the DCEU. One component of its multiverse focused plot is the return of Keaton’s Batman and the gothic Burtonverse he inhabits. However, the presence of Keaton’s Batman in Batgirl, combined with the fact that Ben Affleck has said that he won’t be appearing as the DCEU Batman again after his appearance in The Flash, suggests that some kind of merging of universes will occur in The Flash, allowing Michael Keaton to become the DCEU’s Batman.
Recently, in a now deleted tweet, Twitter user @the_iain_shaw revealed a prop newspaper he found on King Street in Glasgow that seems to suggest that more than just Keaton’s Batman will be transplanted into the DCEU by the events of The Flash. The paper’s headline reads “LEX LUTHOR JAILED IN BELLE REVE PRISON”, a reference to both Superman’s notorious archnemesis and the prison where Amanda Waller recruits supervillains for Task Force-X in The Suicide Squad. At the bottom of the photograph we can see a second headline, which is partially obscured by a fold in the newspaper. It seems to read “A COMEBACK FOR COBBLEPOT”, which is likely a reference to Oswald Cobblepot AKA The Penguin. The newspaper is an issue of the Gotham Globe, a fictional newspaper previously seen in Batman Returns. The paper’s logo is the same as the one seen in the Burtonverse. The image can be seen below, via Twitter user @drisraelluna.
This image raises some questions about the future of Batman and Gotham in the DCEU. The presence of this Burtonverse newspaper in a DCEU film suggests that Keaton’s Batman isn’t the only aspect of that universe that will be incorporated into the DCEU. This could potentially open the door for other versions of characters from that continuity to return. DeVito’s Penguin was killed towards the end of Batman Returns, but the fusion of universes might have created a new composite reality where the sewer-dwelling umbrella enthusiast survived. The comeback mentioned in the newspaper could even refer to The Penguin potentially returning from the dead, perhaps via one of Ra’s al Ghul’s Lazarus pits. Equally, the paper could be referring to a previously unseen DCEU version of The Penguin, rather than the DeVito incarnation of the character.
There are currently a number of Batman projects due to be released in the near future. Matt Reeves' The Batman, featuring Robert Pattinson’s debut as the caped crusader and Colin Farrell as The Penguin, will be released next month, while The Flash, which features Keaton’s highly anticipated Batman return, will arrive in cinemas in November. It will be very interesting to see how the events of that film and Batgirl will influence the DCEU going forward.
Source: Iain Shaw (via @drisraelluna)
