HBO’s The Penguin takes audiences back to Gotham City, but, according to Matt Reeves, its crime-ladened story will be told without the city’s Dark Knight.The Penguin premieres on HBO and Max on September 19, and sees Colin Farrell reapply his extensive prosthetics to play Oz Cobb, a.k.a. The Penguin. Set a week after the events of The Batman, Oz is vying for power after the death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) has left Gotham City’s underbelly with a power vacuum. Standing in his way is Carmine’s daughter, Sofia Falcone (Cristin Millioti), who has recently been released from the infamous Arkham Asylum. Despite featuring several of Batman’s shadiest villains, the Caped Crusader himself will be notably absent from The Penguin.

Speaking to Total Film, Matt Reeves explained why Batman will be busy with other criminals during The Penguin. The director explained that Batman and The Riddler’s (Paul Dano) presence will be felt in the movie, thanks to the still flooded Gotham. However, Reeves explained that Batman shouldn’t be reduced to a cameo or supporting character, as Gotham is his city. He explained:

“I’m a point-of-view filmmaker. When I’m doing a Batman story, Batman and Bruce is going to be the main point of view. To explore the rogues gallery, they could never get the real estate we can do in a series. So Batman is in this [show] only as a sense that he’s a presence. You’re aware that all of these events began because of the Riddler, but the Riddler doesn’t appear and Batman doesn’t appear.”

The director did reveal that he initially had talks with showrunner Lauren LeFranc about Robert Battinson’s Batman making an appearance in The Penguin. But, the director said that idea was quickly scrapped. Reeves then re-affirmed his point, saying:

“Rob is not going to be in the show. I’d rather take the Band-Aid off now. We did talk about all that but we felt the best way to do this was to go on a grand exploration of a guy grabbing for power in this moment.”

The Penguin Puts a Fresh Spin on the Crime Genre

Even from the very first trailer, the influence of the crime genre on The Penguin shouldn’t need much explaining. Just like the Batman and Joker of Reeves’ universe, The Penguin is still finding his footing as crime boss in Gotham City. While Bruce Wayne is only in his second year of patrolling the streets, Oz Cobb is still trying to make a name for himself, having previously worked under Carmine Falcone. It’s a story reminiscent of Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, or Christopher in HBO’s The Sopranos.

However, Lauren LeFranc’s The Penguin is doing something new with the genre. Partly a product of their time, and partly due to the worlds and characters they present, classics of the crime genre tend to showcase underwritten female characters and misogynistic male protagonists. LeFranc wanted to change that in The Penguin by introducing genuinely interesting, three-dimensional female characters. LeFranc explained:

“Very few women have been able to write these kinds of movies or television shows. I think my perspective on Oz, and masculinity in general, is different. And that made me also want to surround him with really interesting, complicated women. In traditional crime dramas, rarely are the women as interesting as the men.”

The Penguin
premieres on Max on September 19, 2024.