Actor Colin Farrell, who plays DC Comics villain Penguin in the upcomingWarner Bros. filmThe Batman,recently revealed that he really wanted his character to smoke in the movie, but the studio wouldn’t allow it.
Even though it was once a common staple in Hollywood films, the depiction of smoking on screen has become more controversial in recent years. Studios like Warner Bros. and Disney in particular are stingy around the subject since many of their properties are marketed towards children. Disney even put a ban on smoking in all of its films back in 2007, which it later extended to some of its subsidiaries, includingLucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar.
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In a recent interview withJake Takes,Farrell discussed his role in as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, a.k.a. Penguin, inThe Batman. During the interview host, Jake Hamilton pointed out that the new film is more of an origin story for Batman’s villains. He then asked Farrell whether fans would get to see the signature top hat, monocle, and long cigarette holder thatPenguin is known for having, to which Farrell replied, “Big studios make big decisions around such things as the presence of cigarettes in films. I fought valiantly for a cigar. At one stage I said, ‘I can have it unlit! Just let me have it unlit.’ They were like, ‘No.’ [As if] a bunch of 12-year-olds are going to start smoking Cuban cigars because [the Penguin is smoking cigars in a movie.]”
Actress Emma Stone went through a similar debacle for herDisney filmCruella,in which she plays a young version of the dog-napping villain from the101 Dalmatiansmovies. In an interview with The New York Times, Stone said it was difficult not to have Cruella’s iconic cigarette holder, but smoking onscreen was not allowed in a Disney film. Stone noted that she wasn’t trying to promote smoking, just as she wasn’t trying to promote skinning dogs.
On the one hand, it’s an understandable stance for afamily-friendly studiosuch as Disney or Warner Bros. Smoking is no longer considered a common habit, and it is widely considered to be extremely hazardous to your health. Big-name studios that market to children likely do not want to promote the idea of smoking, fearing that their younger viewers may emulate what they see on screen. That being said, Stone makes a good point regarding the fact that she, and Farrell for that matter, are playing villains who do much worse than smoke cigarettes on screen.
So, unfortunately fans may not get to see Farrell’s Penguin take a whiff from an elongated cigarette or a fat Cuban cigar inThe Batman, or any future Warner Bros. projects. While the cigarette in the holder is one of Penguin’s signature physical attributes, it’s easy to understand why Farrell might want a cigar in hand.His version of Penguinappears to be replicating a stereotypical mob boss more than previous versions, with the actor even drawing a thick New York-style accent in the trailers. Hopefully, despite the absence of a cigar, Farrell will still prove to be a menacing villain in the upcoming film.
The Batmanwill be available to watch in theaters on March 4th, 2022.
