15 Batman Arkham Series Elements That Would Make Future Films Great

There have been two notable depictions of Oswald Cobblepot, otherwise known as The Penguin, on screen. The first was Burgess Meredith's light-hearted portrayal in the 1960s television series, whilst the second was Danny DeVito's grotesque version of the character in 1992's Batman Returns, which shedded his image from the comics as a 'gentleman of crime' by making him deformed with actual Penguin-like characteristics. Since then, the character has been regularly depicted in both this guise and his traditional persona as an upper class member of society with extensive underworld connections.

Though he didn't feature in Arkham Asylum (as a perfectly sane individual he is typically sent to an ordinary prison upon capture instead), Penguin appears as one of the primary antagonists of Arkham City, where the titular prison development absorbs his Iceberg Lounge nightclub. Reimagined as a ruthless gang leader, this iteration of Cobblepot has a smashed beer bottle for an eye instead of a monocle and a Cockney accent that makes him sound much more menacing than he would with a more refined twang. 

Arkham Knight sees him return as a weapons dealer that supplies the criminals that remain in the evacuated Gotham with black market arms, though Batman and Nightwing soon put a stop to this in a series of cooperative missions.

Utilising the Penguin as a weapons dealer on film would allow him to be featured in a supporting (and possibly recurring) capacity, adding depth and functioning as a shout-out to fans without having to dedicate an entire story to him as a primary or secondary antagonist. He could eventually, however, become such if audiences were receptive to the interpretation, which could certainly be given gravitas by somebody of the Ray Winstone mould.