Danny DeVito Still Has The Penguin's Umbrella From Batman Returns
Michael Keaton may have been willing to once again don the cape and cowl as Batman in "The Flash." And he may have talked openly, on numerous occasions, about his experiences in the two Tim Burton movies that established him as the best Batman of all time. But he's never seemed to genuinely love the role of Batman. In fact, he was much more taken by Bruce Wayne as a character, believing the tortured billionaire to be the key to playing the lead role in 1989's "Batman" and 1992's "Batman Returns."
For Danny DeVito, however, playing the Penguin in the latter movie seems to have been a real career highlight. The actor has previously defended his own Penguin performance as being better than Colin Farrell's in "The Batman." And reports of DeVito completely throwing himself into the role of Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin are widespread, with the veteran star clearly taking his part in "Batman Returns" a little too seriously. According to his co-stars, he would stay in character between takes, prompting Catwoman actor Michelle Pfieffer to describe his on-set behavior as "really creepy."
But it was all an extension of the fact that DeVito truly valued the role of the Penguin. And it seems that, like a true fanboy, the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star managed to hold onto one of his props from the set of "Batman Returns," which he still has to this day.
'Ladies and gentleman, watch his mind be blown'
In retrospect, Danny DeVito seems like the perfect choice to play the Penguin. But the man needed some convincing prior to being officially cast in "Batman Returns." Jack Nicholson even had a hand in persuading his friend to take on the role, and after a meeting with Tim Burton, DeVito was finally onboard.
In the years since "Batman Returns" debuted, the actor has spoken about his willingness to return as the Penguin, saying he'd be open to reprising the role as recently as 2021. Now, he's once again reminded us all of his passion for Oswald Cobblepot, in an SFX Magazine interview. During the Zoom interview, he revealed he still has one of the umbrellas used in "Returns," even bringing out the prop out during the call.
According to the report, DeVito took a moment to announce, "I have something you're gonna really like, just stay right where you are. Don't move," before walking away and returning to reveal a black and white spiral umbrella. He then added, "That is the original Penguin's umbrella [...] Ladies and gentlemen, watch his mind be blown," referring to the prop as "a treasure of mine."
The umbrella in question is one of many used in "Returns," and sounds like it comes from the scene in which Christopher Walken's Max Shreck first gets taken to the Penguin's sewer hideout. There Oswald takes out the umbrella and starts twirling it before letting off a shot and revealing it to be a gun in disguise.
Bring back Oswald
Danny DeVito also used his interview to once again reiterate his desire to return as Penguin should he be required for some multiversal adventure in future. The actor said:
"I would definitely consider doing it, yeah [...] 'Batman Returns' was a great part, it was operatic. You could just pull out all the stops. There were so many motivating things, so many things churning up inside of him. Being the odd man out — the odd bird out — brought the character out of me. It was an emotional experience for me because I felt it was an opportunity of a lifetime to play Oswald Cobblepot with Tim's vision and design. Tim is a genius to me."
Whereas some actors might try to distance themselves from their foray into comic book adaptations (I'm thinking of Tommy Lee Jones, who was reluctant to play Two Face in "Batman Forever" from the outset), DeVito has always seemed truly grateful and excited to have been part of "Batman Returns." And honestly, his portrayal of the Penguin is one of my favorite performances, and it deserves a little more recognition.
Unfortunately, the initial backlash to "Returns" seems to have distracted from just how good DeVito was in the role, with audiences initially taken aback by Tim Burton essentially letting his freak flag fly on the movie. But "Returns" has started to be seen more favorably in recent years, and frankly, it's about damn time. With that in mind, I hope DeVito does get a chance to come back. I also hope it's handled a lot better than Michael Keaton's return in the box office disaster that was "The Flash," which did pretty much nothing to preserve that all-important Tim Burton "vision and design" that captivated DeVito 30 years ago.