Batman will not appear in the Penguin series

If you've been holding out for an appearance by Robert Pattinson as Batman in The Penguin, the creatives behind the series have some bad news for you.

In a new interview with SFX, The Penguin showrunner decided to get fan expectations in check. "I understand why people's desire would be to have Batman, or to think that unless Batman's in a show or a film then it doesn't have the same punch. To me I think it packs a different punch. Matt's films are through the lens of the Batman, so you're high up, looking down on the city. It's a different perspective. With Oz, you're in the city streets, you're in the grit and the muck and the grime. He's looking up, wanting to claw his way to the top."

She went on to add, "So it's a different experience I think Gotham is an interesting enough city that it deserves to have more doors unlocked within it, and for us to walk through those and see what we think."

The Batman director Matt Reeves added, "I don't feel like it's missing something fundamental. I feel like it's an extension of what is fundamentally there. We know this is the world of Batman."

"You're going down a different alley. So the spectre of Batman is there," he added. "The spectre of the Riddler is there. The spectre of everything that happens in the last movie is there. It informs it. And it's exactly where we begin."

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..

13 comments

Duffuronious

September 1, 2024

Bummer

Kara
September 2, 2024
BOF is reporting that while Batman won’t be in the show, Bruce Wayne will. 😉
1. Duffuronious
  September 2, 2024
  That would be pretty cool!

Kaingerc

September 1, 2024

I'm on the fence about this,
On the one hand you don't want to overuse Batman if you are actually trying to expand this world (just see the 'Gotham' show with how comical it can get with teen-Bat running around solving crimes)
on the other hand, if you remove him completely all you are left with is a generic Gangster show without much of a selling point. (Just having Colin Farrel alone is not enough)

what they can do i think is introduce some named GCPD cops like Bullock or Montoya as minor characters.(not enough to effect the plot significantly, but to add to the world building)
That's something that I think the Caped Crusader show did relatively well (even though I was disappointed they made Bullock into just another corrupt cop and not more morally grey)

Sara
September 1, 2024
That's not something I thought Caped Crusader did well. Barbara was an insufferable nag who hogged up screen time. Most of the rest of the GCPD-affiliated characters, including Jim Gordon, were left behind. There needs to be a better balance.
The problem is never focusing on someone other than Batman. It's whom you focus on, how much, and what detrimental effects it can have on the rest of the cast or plot. Making Barbara co-lead was just stupid.
1. Kaingerc
  September 1, 2024
  I would agree that Barbara is not the most likable character on the show by a long shot, but I want to give the writers some of the benefit of doubt by giving her a relatively sheltered upbringing, which is why she constantly acts morally superior to everyone else and has less experience with morally Grey situations (giving her some parallels with Bruce)
  there is potential to that show, though I do feel like sometimes they are making changes for the sake of making them and not because it adds anything to the story (there really was no point in making Penguin a woman, even if they wanted her to perform a musical number)
  1. Sara
    September 1, 2024
    Oh, I think the show has potential, with a few glaring problems. Barbara being the most glaring problem of all. Her one-note moral superiority got a better, more complex character killed and ate into every cast member's potential for development. By episode ten, I was steeling myself against her appearances. And I was right to suspect the worst of her.
    I don't mind female Penguin, but I'm inclined to agree that the change didn't seem to add anything except a good floor show. Driver's (and Diedrich Bader's) voice acting saved that iffy first episode.
    1. jrvc
      September 2, 2024
      totally agree with everything you say about the show
  2. Madeleine
    September 1, 2024
    As public defender in a violent, divided city and the adult daughter of a police commissioner, Barbara should have shown more maturity, professionalism, and psychological insight than she did at any time during the series.
    When Bruce failed to read Harvey Dent correctly he got called out by Harvey himself. Harvey saw right through him. Barbara never got that much needed check.
    As for the creation of supporting cast in the Penguin series I hope they find a better balance, as Sara put it. There are many good characters from Batman that can be introduced into a crime drama. Let them choose well. Not all characters deserve a starring role.

Sara

September 1, 2024

Why did it take two days to post about this?

The article is here . A link to the front page will become outdated very quickly.

Anyway. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't a bad thing. It's a part of a general movement in Batman media away from a world that revolves around Bruce Wayne.

Kara

September 2, 2024

Shame😔

AnonymousHero

September 2, 2024

This is no big deal. The focus is Penguin's development. Much more underground. Batman isn't needed. He'll emerge different as The Penguin we all know fully actualized. Batman is waiting in the wings. Wouldn't doubt we see the Bat signal toward the end. Who cares. It's all good.

Nerdy Deeds, LLC

September 30, 2024

Seems to me that, while it makes a degree of sense, there's nothing preventing the Batman's presence from being known without ever needing him to appear on screen.

There's an argument that, since Os is still an up-and-comer, not yet at the height of his power or danger as part of Batman's rogues gallery, he doesn't yet warrant the direct attention of the Bat, and that until he's "The Penguin" he's too small-fish for Bruce to get involved.

Conversely, though, Batman has never hesitated to address the small fry criminal element he swoops past, and, given their interaction as laid out in the film, it seems like Os's known connection to drops production, the Falcones, and, no doubt, any buzz surrounding the underworld about his (presumably-soon-to-be) meteoric rise throughout the ranks of the mafia, the odds of him simply passing by the bat-radar seem remote.

I'd like to see Batman used as a foil, intermittently (again: never needs to appear on screen, only the consequences of his existence need be felt):
- A shipment is destroyed. Both the Falcones and the Maronis blame the other faction until it is later revealed on the news - or better yet, by a corrupt cop - that it was targeted by Batman.
- A high-ranking member of either family goes missing at the hands of Os. Just as suspicion reaches peak, his - the goon's - trademark handkerchief is found pinned to a wall by a batterang (quick thinking, Vic!).
- ...etc.

Duffuronious
September 1, 2024
Bummer
1. Kara
  September 2, 2024
  BOF is reporting that while Batman won’t be in the show, Bruce Wayne will. 😉
  1. Duffuronious
    September 2, 2024
    That would be pretty cool!
Kaingerc
September 1, 2024
I'm on the fence about this,
On the one hand you don't want to overuse Batman if you are actually trying to expand this world (just see the 'Gotham' show with how comical it can get with teen-Bat running around solving crimes)
on the other hand, if you remove him completely all you are left with is a generic Gangster show without much of a selling point. (Just having Colin Farrel alone is not enough)
what they can do i think is introduce some named GCPD cops like Bullock or Montoya as minor characters.(not enough to effect the plot significantly, but to add to the world building)
That's something that I think the Caped Crusader show did relatively well (even though I was disappointed they made Bullock into just another corrupt cop and not more morally grey)
1. Sara
  September 1, 2024
  That's not something I thought Caped Crusader did well. Barbara was an insufferable nag who hogged up screen time. Most of the rest of the GCPD-affiliated characters, including Jim Gordon, were left behind. There needs to be a better balance.
  The problem is never focusing on someone other than Batman. It's whom you focus on, how much, and what detrimental effects it can have on the rest of the cast or plot. Making Barbara co-lead was just stupid.
  1. Kaingerc
    September 1, 2024
    I would agree that Barbara is not the most likable character on the show by a long shot, but I want to give the writers some of the benefit of doubt by giving her a relatively sheltered upbringing, which is why she constantly acts morally superior to everyone else and has less experience with morally Grey situations (giving her some parallels with Bruce)
    there is potential to that show, though I do feel like sometimes they are making changes for the sake of making them and not because it adds anything to the story (there really was no point in making Penguin a woman, even if they wanted her to perform a musical number)
    1. Sara
      September 1, 2024
      Oh, I think the show has potential, with a few glaring problems. Barbara being the most glaring problem of all. Her one-note moral superiority got a better, more complex character killed and ate into every cast member's potential for development. By episode ten, I was steeling myself against her appearances. And I was right to suspect the worst of her.
      I don't mind female Penguin, but I'm inclined to agree that the change didn't seem to add anything except a good floor show. Driver's (and Diedrich Bader's) voice acting saved that iffy first episode.
      1. jrvc
        September 2, 2024
        totally agree with everything you say about the show
    2. Madeleine
      September 1, 2024
      As public defender in a violent, divided city and the adult daughter of a police commissioner, Barbara should have shown more maturity, professionalism, and psychological insight than she did at any time during the series.
      When Bruce failed to read Harvey Dent correctly he got called out by Harvey himself. Harvey saw right through him. Barbara never got that much needed check.
      As for the creation of supporting cast in the Penguin series I hope they find a better balance, as Sara put it. There are many good characters from Batman that can be introduced into a crime drama. Let them choose well. Not all characters deserve a starring role.
Sara
September 1, 2024
Why did it take two days to post about this?
The article is here . A link to the front page will become outdated very quickly.
Anyway. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't a bad thing. It's a part of a general movement in Batman media away from a world that revolves around Bruce Wayne.
Kara
September 2, 2024
Shame😔
AnonymousHero
September 2, 2024
This is no big deal. The focus is Penguin's development. Much more underground. Batman isn't needed. He'll emerge different as The Penguin we all know fully actualized. Batman is waiting in the wings. Wouldn't doubt we see the Bat signal toward the end. Who cares. It's all good.
Nerdy Deeds, LLC
September 30, 2024
Seems to me that, while it makes a degree of sense, there's nothing preventing the Batman's presence from being known without ever needing him to appear on screen.
There's an argument that, since Os is still an up-and-comer, not yet at the height of his power or danger as part of Batman's rogues gallery, he doesn't yet warrant the direct attention of the Bat, and that until he's "The Penguin" he's too small-fish for Bruce to get involved.
Conversely, though, Batman has never hesitated to address the small fry criminal element he swoops past, and, given their interaction as laid out in the film, it seems like Os's known connection to drops production, the Falcones, and, no doubt, any buzz surrounding the underworld about his (presumably-soon-to-be) meteoric rise throughout the ranks of the mafia, the odds of him simply passing by the bat-radar seem remote.
I'd like to see Batman used as a foil, intermittently (again: never needs to appear on screen, only the consequences of his existence need be felt):
- A shipment is destroyed. Both the Falcones and the Maronis blame the other faction until it is later revealed on the news - or better yet, by a corrupt cop - that it was targeted by Batman.
- A high-ranking member of either family goes missing at the hands of Os. Just as suspicion reaches peak, his - the goon's - trademark handkerchief is found pinned to a wall by a batterang (quick thinking, Vic!).
- ...etc.

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