“He Stole My Villain”: Margot Robbie Drops Bombshell Penguin Drama On Colin Farrell

In a move that left fans gasping and the entertainment press scrambling for hot takes, Margot Robbie has dropped one of the juiciest behind-the-scenes revelations the DC Extended Universe has heard in years. During a recent sit-down with Entertainment Weekly to promote her new film “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” alongside Colin Farrell, the actress confessed that her female-led superhero spin-off, Birds of Prey (2020), was originally planning to use none other than The Penguin as its central villain.

Yes, you read that correctly: before Farrell ever donned the prosthetics and gravelly accent to become Gotham’s most infamous crime lord in Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022), the character was nearly set to face off against Robbie’s Harley Quinn and her squad of misfit heroines.

And here’s the kicker: Matt Reeves himself stopped it from happening.

According to Robbie, Reeves made it clear that The Penguin was off-limits because he already had plans for the character in his own film. The line she recalls? “I’m going to use him in my thing.”

The revelation stunned Farrell in real time, who appeared genuinely blindsided during the interview, admitting that he had never heard the story until that moment.

The Penguin That Got Away

Birds of Prey may not have been a box office juggernaut, but the film gained a cult following for its edgy style, anarchic tone, and Robbie’s unhinged yet charismatic turn as Harley Quinn. For fans, hearing that the team almost went toe-to-toe with The Penguin opens a Pandora’s box of “what ifs.”

Robbie explained that the idea of using Penguin wasn’t just a passing thought. The script at one point considered placing Gotham’s ruthless kingpin at the center of the story, giving Harley Quinn and the Birds a truly formidable, high-profile enemy. But when Reeves stepped in to claim the character for his noir-driven take on Gotham, the plan was scrapped.

The final film pivoted to feature Roman Sionis (a.k.a. Black Mask), played by Ewan McGregor, as the flamboyant crime boss terrorizing Gotham’s underworld. While McGregor’s performance drew mixed reviews, it’s impossible not to imagine the seismic buzz that would have erupted if Colin Farrell’s Penguin had collided with Robbie’s Harley Quinn in the same cinematic timeline.

Colin Farrell’s Shocked Reaction

The most viral part of the EW interview wasn’t Robbie’s revelation alone—it was Farrell’s face as the truth landed. The Irish actor, who spent hours in the makeup chair each day to become Oswald Cobblepot in Reeves’ The Batman, was floored.

Farrell admitted he had no idea that Birds of Prey once had Penguin in its sights. His stunned silence quickly turned into nervous laughter, and the internet immediately seized on the clip, turning it into memes, GIFs, and TikTok edits within hours.

“That’s mad,” Farrell reportedly muttered, clearly piecing together the alternate DC timeline in his head.

Matt Reeves Pulls Rank

At the heart of this revelation is director Matt Reeves, the visionary behind The Batman. According to Robbie, Reeves made his intentions clear early in the development process: Penguin was off-limits.

The phrase Robbie remembered—“I’m going to use him in my thing”—has already become a trending tagline across Twitter/X, with fans dissecting its bluntness. Some see Reeves’ decision as a smart, protective move to save Penguin for a darker, more grounded Gotham narrative. Others see it as a frustrating example of DC’s notorious behind-the-scenes chaos and territorial creative battles.

Whatever the case, Reeves got his wish. Farrell’s Penguin not only played a critical role in The Batman, but the character is now headlining his own HBO Max spin-off series, The Penguin, set to expand Reeves’ Gothamverse.

Why Fans Are Losing Their Minds

Social media reaction has been explosive. Within hours of the EW interview going live, fans flooded comment sections with outrage, disbelief, and plenty of dark humor.

• Some lamented the “missed opportunity” of seeing Harley Quinn’s chaos clash with Penguin’s calculated brutality.

• Others praised Reeves for protecting his creative vision, arguing that Penguin fits far better in a gritty noir setting than in the stylized chaos of Birds of Prey.

• And then there’s the meme crowd, gleefully posting side-by-side shots of Robbie and Farrell with captions like “The multiverse is broken.”

On TikTok, clips of Robbie’s reveal racked up millions of views under hashtags like #PenguinDrama, #MargotRobbieBombshell, and #ColinFarrellReaction.

The Bigger Picture: DC’s Behind-the-Scenes Chaos

This revelation isn’t just juicy gossip—it’s another example of DC’s long-running identity crisis. Fans have grown accustomed to abrupt creative shifts, abandoned storylines, and directors tug-of-war over characters.

Think about it:

• Ben Affleck’s Batman storyline was scrapped.

• Henry Cavill’s Superman was abruptly sidelined, then teased, then sidelined again.

• Now we learn that Birds of Prey almost had Penguin, only to lose him to Reeves’ Gotham.

Each revelation underscores the fragmented state of DC’s cinematic universe compared to Marvel’s famously interconnected web.

For many fans, Robbie’s Penguin confession feels like another chapter in a long saga of “what could have been.”

Margot Robbie: Still the Heart of Harley Quinn

Despite the drama, one thing is clear: Margot Robbie remains the undisputed face of Harley Quinn.

Her performance in Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey (2020), and The Suicide Squad (2021) turned Harley into one of the most bankable and beloved anti-heroes of modern cinema. Even when films underperformed, Robbie’s portrayal consistently drew praise.

That consistency explains why her Penguin revelation hits so hard. Fans trust Robbie’s Harley, and hearing that she almost squared off against one of Gotham’s most legendary villains adds another layer of intrigue to her already iconic run.

Colin Farrell’s Penguin: A Star is Born

While Robbie may have lost Penguin for Birds of Prey, Farrell’s turn as Oswald Cobblepot in The Batman was nothing short of transformative. Many viewers didn’t even realize it was Farrell under the prosthetics until the credits rolled.

Farrell’s Penguin was slimy, dangerous, and oddly sympathetic—a small-time gangster clawing for power in a city teeming with corruption. His performance became a standout in a film packed with heavyweights like Robert Pattinson (Batman), Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman), and Paul Dano (The Riddler).

Now, with his own spin-off series on the way, it’s safe to say Reeves’ decision to “steal” the character has paid off in a massive way.

“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” and the Irony of Silence

Adding to the drama is the irony that Robbie and Farrell never discussed their DC characters while filming their upcoming fantasy drama “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.”

During the EW interview, the pair admitted they never once brought up Harley Quinn or Penguin on set. Imagine that: two of DC’s most iconic modern performers working side-by-side, completely avoiding the elephant (or penguin) in the room.

That silence made Robbie’s sudden revelation all the more shocking—and viral.

SEO-Friendly Buzzwords Fans Keep Searching

For readers just joining the frenzy, here are the key buzzwords trending right now around this revelation:

• Margot Robbie Penguin Confession

• Colin Farrell Reaction

• Matt Reeves Blocked Birds of Prey

• He Stole My Villain

• Penguin Drama Explodes

• DC Behind-the-Scenes Feud

Each of these terms is spiking across Google Trends and social platforms, proving just how much oxygen this story has consumed in the entertainment ecosystem.

The What-If Game

So, let’s play it out. What would Birds of Prey have looked like with The Penguin as its villain?

Imagine Harley Quinn leading her ragtag team—Huntress, Black Canary, Renee Montoya, and the young Cassandra Cain—against Farrell’s grotesque crime lord. The clash of tones could have been fascinating: Harley’s chaotic energy bouncing off Penguin’s calculating menace.

The stakes would have been higher, the marketing buzz louder, and the potential box office perhaps more formidable. Instead, we got Black Mask—a fun but ultimately less iconic villain.

Final Thoughts: A Viral Legacy

At the end of the day, Robbie’s revelation is more than gossip—it’s a reminder of how precarious and political blockbuster filmmaking can be. Characters aren’t just storytelling tools; they’re assets to be claimed, protected, and sometimes withheld.

For fans, this “Penguin drama” is now part of DC’s lore. Even if we never see Robbie’s Harley face off against Farrell’s Penguin, the story of how it almost happened has cemented itself as one of the juiciest Hollywood “what-ifs” of recent years.

And if Reeves’ Penguin spin-off becomes a breakout hit, the line “I’m going to use him in my thing” will go down in history as both a decisive and controversial move that reshaped Gotham’s big-screen landscape.