A Joker And Penguin Team-Up? The Batman's Barry Keoghan Talks Reuniting With Colin Farrell

Earlier this year, Matt Reeves’ The Batman launched a whole new cinematic canon for the caped crusader, and in doing so has inspired the imaginations of fans around the world. Now that many key characters and settings have been established, there is instant and remarkable potential for whatever comes next and hype for the new dynamics that will be introduced. For example, I keep finding myself wondering what kind of relationship could possibly end up forming between Barry Keoghan’s new version of The Joker and Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penguin (particularly given the performers’ history together) – and it’s an idea that excites Keoghan as well.

A little more than half a year after the theatrical release of The Batman, both of the actors are now featured in Martin McDonagh’s new dark comedy The Banshees Of Inisherin, and earlier this month, during the press day for the new film, I asked Keoghan about potentially reteaming with Farrell in the new Batman continuity. With plenty of secrecy still surrounding his future as The Joker, he couldn’t say too much about the idea, but it seems that it’s something that he wants to happen purely because of the appreciation he has for his co-star. Said Keoghan,

In The Batman, Barry Keoghan and Colin Farrell don’t actually share the screen (which is primarily because the former only appears in one scene), but the two performers have standout history together. In 2017, they co-starred in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing Of A Sacred Deer – a haunting psychological horror film that takes a while to stop casting shadows on your brain – and while the movie isn’t out yet, I can say that they are all kinds of brilliant together in The Banshees Of Inisherin, and their characters have a bond that ends up being both hilarious and tragic.

As for their potential future in the world of The Batman, things are presently up in the air. It seems likely at this point that we’ll next be seeing Colin Farrell’s The Penguin in the crime boss’ HBO Max spinoff series, which has been in development since last fall, and Barry Keoghan has seemingly not gotten confirmation yet if he is going to be a part of Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2. There haven’t been any release dates set for anything related to the continuity yet, which only makes things feel more up in the air, but you can be sure that we’ll have the latest details for you about the projects as more information becomes available.

Also starring Brendan Gleeson and Kerry Condon in addition to Barry Keoghan and Colin Farrell, The Banshees Of Inisherin arrives in theaters this Friday, and it’s one of the best movies of 2022. See it on the big screen this weekend (buy your tickets now), and stay up to date with all of the features that are on the way from DC Comics with our Upcoming DC Movies guide.