The Penguin’s Colin Farrell Might Star In Yet Another DC Project
DC didn’t have to look far for its new Sgt. Rock, even though it maybe should have.
As the superhero industrial complex matures, it feels like every actor available to star in a major comic book adaptation has already done so. Some have even done it twice: Chris Evans, Gemma Chan, and Robert Downey Jr. are just a few of the Marvel actors who’ve double-dipped. Downey is central to Marvel’s most baffling casting yet, returning as Doctor Doom after a successful 10-year run as Tony Stark. DC is getting in on the trend too: Aquaman star Jason Momoa was recently cast as the anti-hero Lobo, and if that shake-up wasn’t enough, The Penguin star Colin Farrell may also be looking for a second gig in the new DC Universe.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Farrell is in talks to play the title role in Sgt. Rock, the Vietnam War-era prequel from director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes. Though the film wasn’t originally part of DC’s reboot slate, it quickly rose to the top of the priority list. The only thing holding the project back now is casting: James Gunn and Peter Safran have been searching for “the perfect actor,” circling names like Daniel Craig for months. If negotiations with Farrell go well, then Sgt. Rock could swiftly move forward into production this summer. But is he a good fit, or is his casting playing into an annoying franchise trend?
Recasting an actor within the same franchise can work in the right circumstances. In Chris Evans’ case, his first Marvel role (Johnny Storm in Fox’s Fantastic Four) predated his role in Captain America: The First Avenger by about a decade, giving audiences time to forget his debut. Gemma Chan first appeared in the MCU as an alien in Captain Marvel, where heavy makeup obscured her face enough to make her next appearance in Eternals feel like her first.
Farrell could be DC’s Sgt. Rock, even though he’s not quite finished with his other DC role.
If THR’s scoop is accurate, then DC is hoping to pull off a similar trick with Farrell. The Irish actor has garnered critical acclaim for his role in The Penguin, but he’s virtually unrecognizable as Oswald Cobb. He could appear in Sgt. Rock without all the prosthetics that turn him into the Penguin. It could also help that The Penguin takes place in Matt Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga, not the DCU. Both are under the DC banner, but they’re separate worlds, so there’ll be no canonical overlap between The Penguin and Sgt. Rock.
That said, it still feels weird to see Farrell even considering another DC role. The Penguin is one of DC’s most acclaimed projects to date, and however Farrell feels about the hassle of transforming into Oswald Cobb, no one seems ready to say goodbye to the character. Reeves and his team are searching for ways to continue his story in future seasons, and he’s also set to appear in The Batman: Part II. It’d be one thing if his tenure as the Penguin was over, but why does DC seem set on choosing an actor already entrenched in one of their universes?
Casting is a funny process that doesn’t always make sense from the outside. That’s especially true for franchises like Marvel and DC, which are trying to stay ahead of the curve while also looking back at their old glories. Downey’s return to the MCU might be the most egregious example, but if Farrell is cast in Sgt. Rock, DC could give its competitor a run for its money. Is it really that hard to find new talent, or at the very least, existing talent untouched by any superhero franchise?
