It is just over a month until the premiere of The PenguinHBO’s live-action crime drama set in the universe of Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The BatmanShowrunner Lauren LeFranc, executive producer Dylan Clark and Reeves attended San Diego Comic-Con and took the stage on Saturday alongside stars Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti and Rhenzy Feliz to talk about the production behind the upcoming series.
Set about a week after the events of The BatmanIn the series, Farrell once again takes on the role of Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, the former right-hand man of crime boss Carmine Falcone. Falcone is dead and Gotham City is flooded after the Riddler’s attack. The Penguin The focus is on Oz’s plan to wrest control of the remnants of his boss’s criminal empire from Sofia Falcone (Milioti), Falcone’s daughter and designated heir.
LeFranc’s series serves as a link between Reeves’ 2022 film and the upcoming The Batman – Part IIwhose filming is due to begin next year, so the most obvious question, apart from How How exactly Oz comes to power is simple. What exactly is Batman up to during this whole turf war between Cobblepot and Sofia Falcone?
During the panel, Lefranc said specified “Batman is high up looking down on Gotham, and Oz is on the streets in the dirt and grime.” She also described The Penguin as a series without heroes, just complicated characters.
When viewers last saw Robert Pattinson’s Batman, he had split up with Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) after recommitting himself to saving Gotham City and vowing to give the citizens hope as they rebuild. While the show’s creators remained tight-lipped about whether the Dark Knight himself would appear at some point in the series, The PenguinMatt Reeves confirmed that Cobblepot himself would return in The Batman – Part II.
Then again, as Batman said at the beginning of Reeves’ film, Gotham is big; he can’t be everywhere at once. Compared to the state of the city, Oswald’s antics may be a problem Batman will have to deal with at another time.
The Penguin Premieres on HBO and Max on September 19th.
