We’re just over a month away from the premiere of The penguinHBO’s live-action crime drama set in the universe of Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The BatsmanShowrunner Lauren LeFranc, executive producer Dylan Clark and Reeves were in attendance at San Diego Comic-Con and took the stage on Saturday alongside stars Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti and Rhenzy Feliz to discuss the production behind the upcoming series.
The story takes place about a week after the events of The BatsmanThe series sees Farrell reprise his role as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, the former right-hand man of crime boss Carmine Falcone. With Falcone dead and Gotham City overrun in the aftermath of the Riddler’s attack, The penguin revolves around Oz’s plan to seize control of what remains of his boss’s criminal empire from Sofia Falcone (Milioti), Falcone’s daughter and heir to the throne.
LeFranc’s series is the connective tissue between Reeves’ 2022 film and the upcoming The Batman – Part IIwhich will start filming next year, so the most obvious question, apart from How exactly Oz comes to power is simple. What is Batman planning during this whole turf war between Cobblepot and Sofia Falcone?
During the panel, Lefranc said mention “The Batman who looks out over Gotham and Oz is out on the streets in the dirt and filth.” She also described The penguin like a series without heroes, only with complicated characters.
The last time audiences saw Robert Pattinson’s Batman, he had said goodbye to Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), having recommitted himself to saving Gotham City and vowed to bring hope to its citizens as they struggled to rebuild. Although the show’s creators were coy about whether the Dark Knight himself would appear in the film at any point The penguinMatt Reeves confirmed that Cobblepot himself would return in The Batman – Part II.
But then again, as Batman said in the opening of Reeves’ film, Gotham’s a big place; he can’t be everywhere at once. Compared to the state of the city, Oswald’s antics may be a problem Batman has to deal with another time.
The penguin premieres September 19 on HBO and Max.