Rumors about Penguin joining the DC Universe continue, thanks to Josh Gad

With Joker and Harley Quinn in the DC cinematic universe, the question is which well known Batman villain could join the live-action world next?

Actor Josh Gad, best known for his voice work in Frozen and appearing alongside Daisy Ridley in some pretty funny Star Wars videos, has been dropping hints since May that he may be the next actor to join DC’s superhero universe as Penguin. His most recent hint, however, may be the most persuasive yet.

Gad posted a photo on Twitter yesterday that showed him holding a Batman comic book which features the Penguin on the cover. More interestingly, however, are the two men that Gad is situated between in the photo. To Gad’s left is Jon Berg, a producer on Wonder Woman and to the actor’s right is Geoff Johns, the creative director of the DCEU for Warner Bros.

This isn’t the first time that Gad has hinted he’ll be joining the DC Universe as Penguin. On May 2, Gad tweeted out a photo of the Penguin without any explanation. This led to fans reimagine the actor as the villain and hound Gad with questions about what this could mean for the DC Universe. Will he be joining the live-action, stand-alone Batman movie that’s in the works? Will he be providing the voice acting for the character in an animated Batman movie?

Gad has been coy, but recently told MTV News he’s just having some fun with fans.

“[I’m] just having some fun,” Gad said. “Just having some fun! Really, I promise! There’s nothing to...there’s no there there. The internet just goes wild. I’m just having some fun putting things out there.”

Still, Gad wouldn’t be the first person to lie about his involvement in a tentpole production leading up to an official announcement. Actors on The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones often have to curb their answers or lie about their character’s involvement in a series to keep things secret. Both Kit Harington and Steven Yeun had to dodge questions about their characters’ fate on Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, respectively, coming up with bogus answers to keep fans at bay.

Whether or not that’s what Gad is doing is questionable. It could be that the actor, who enjoys pulling pranks and messing around online, is just having some fun. But considering the Penguin is one of the most notorious villains in the DC universe, it makes sense that Johns and Berg would want to get him into a movie.

The last time Penguin was in a live-action Batman movie was in 1992. Danny DeVito played the villain in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Since then, however, the Penguin has appeared in animated Batman movies produced by Warner Bros., but his presence in the live-action universe has been sorely missed.

The next DC live-action movie, Justice League, will be released on Nov. 17.