The upcoming The Penguin is shaping up to be something we haven't seen in a Batman production before, and now the show runner is discussing what influenced the story.

Lauren LeFranc recently spoke with Empire about the series and what we could expect to see from it. “Matt [Reeves came up] with this Scarface story – a rise to power,” she explained. “I turned it into a psychological character study of this man. Mobsters historically are larger than life, so there is that slightly elevated quality to it, but he’s just a man. A very complicated man.”

LeFranc went on to add, “This is what differentiates him from previous versions of the Penguin in the comics, where he used to come from a wealthy, well-known family,” LeFranc notes. “Matt had already made him an underdog in that he was number two to Carmine Falcone in the film, but we didn’t know anything about his family. So it was important to me that he comes from nothing, and he’s really aching to get more status and be seen as more important.”

Oscar-nominee Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oz Cobb, the titular Penguin and a scene-stealing favorite from Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He will be joined by Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone and Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni.

The cast includes Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo), and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush)

Craig Zobel (The Mare of Easttown) signed on to direct the first two episodes of The Penguin. He will also be serving as an executive producer on the project.

The Penguin project has been discussed for some time and was ordered straight to series shortly after the premiere of The Batman in March 2021.

The Penguin is currently set to debut on Sept. 19..