Colin Farrell reveals his exact number of scenes in The Batman: Part II and hints at a “terrifying” story.
Farrell first played Oz Cobb/the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman movie. He reprised the role in HBO Max’s critically acclaimed The Penguin miniseries, which received 24 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won in nine categories. Director Matt Reeves has confirmed that the character is also returning in The Batman: Part II, which is in the midst of filming, although Farrell previously indicated that he would have a smaller role this time around.
In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley for Sugar season 2, Farrell was asked if he had seen the full script for The Batman: Part II yet written by Reeves and Mattson Tomlin. The actor confirmed that he has been able to read the entire script, which he describes as “dark,” “terrifying,” “psychologically weighty,” and “nuanced.” Farrell also clarified that he only appears in two scenes in the sequel. Check out his comments below:
Sure. Yeah, the whole thing. We haven’t gone to that place yet where somebody arrives with a titanium briefcase chain to their wrist and seven pages of only my scenes. I got to read from the first to last page and it’s really magnificent. I just think Matt Reeves is brilliant and he wrote, not only tonally, a really kind of dark and at times terrifying piece, and not only psychologically weighty and nuanced, but really feeling. It’s a really… There’s moments in it. It’s full of feeling. I just think he wrote kind of a contemporary genre masterpiece, really. I’m only in two scenes, which is great because it means I can enjoy the rest of the film.
Honestly, man, it’s so good. I’m so excited about it. I’m so excited for Matt and Dylan and Robert and the whole team.
Farrell’s remarks confirm exactly how small his character’s role will be this time, especially when compared to The Batman and being the protagonist of his own television series. In his absence, other members of The Batman: Part II‘s cast are poised to be taking on larger roles. Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Charles Dance, Brian Tyree Henry, and Sebastian Koch are the newcomers whose casting Reeves confirmed alongside Farrell and other returning actors.
It has not been officially stated yet by anyone involved in the film, but Stan has been widely reported to be playing Harvey Dent/Two-Face and said he will be playing “many roles.” Meanwhile, Johansson is rumored to be portraying Harvey’s wife, Gilda Dent, while Dance plays Harvey’s father, Christopher Dent. If this is the case, the Dent family will likely be taking much of the villainous focus, which would be a reason why the Penguin has a much smaller part in the upcoming story.
As for other actors from the 2022 movie who are returning, this includes Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál, and Gil-Perez Abraham as Officer Martinez. Barry Keoghan is rumored to be coming back to play the Joker, with this version of the character being introduced during The Batman‘s ending, but it has not been officially confirmed yet.
The Batman was a massive box office hit that grossed $772 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $200 million. With an 85% Tomatometer score and an 87% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was well-received by both critics and general audiences. The Batman: Part II is a DC movie, but it is not part of James Gunn’s DC Universe, and is instead considered an Elseworlds project set in its own universe, which HBO’s The Penguin series belongs to as well.
Given the success of The Batman, The Penguin, and The Batman: Part II all but guaranteed to be another hit, it likely won’t be the end of the universe that Reeves has been building. This means that despite his smaller role in the sequel, Farrell has the potential to return as Oz in other projects down the line, where he can have a larger part again.
The Batman: Part II releases in theaters on October 1, 2027. Sugar season 2 makes its Apple TV debut on June 19, 2026.