After taking the world by storm with ‘The Batman’ in 2022, filmmaker Matt Reeves looks to do the same via a different platform this time, television, with ‘The Penguin’. Created by Lauren LeFranc, the upcoming HBO series stars Colin Farrell as the titular DC antagonist. Reeves served as one of the executive producers for this little beauty. He plans to expand the roots of DC Elseworlds with the forthcoming show after bestowing a whole new interpretation of Gotham City in the 2022 Robert Pattinson starrer. Speaking of Pattinson, fans are wondering whether they will see the actor appearing in ‘The Penguin’. Don’t worry, Reeves has addressed this issue.
In a recent interview with SFX Magazine, executive producer Reeves and showrunner LeFranc talked about Pattinson’s potential return as The Caped Crusader in ‘The Penguin’. This is what they said:
LeFranc: “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.”
Reeves: “We know this is the world of Batman. You’re going down a different alley. So the spectre of Batman is there. 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.”
LeFranc and Reeves might be teasing us about Batman’s role in The Penguin, but we should ask ourselves if the show needs The Dark Knight at all. Please keep in mind that the show’s events will take place right after the climax of The Batman. The entire Gotham City is flooded with water. So, this will keep Batman busy as we cannot expect him to go after the bad guys after what the citizens of Gotham City endured in the 2022 movie. He will surely look to save as many people as he can. This scenario may keep Batman as far away as possible from Penguin.
However, this scenario gives a Penguin a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take control of the entire Gotham’s criminal underworld. With no Carmine Falcone in his way, Cobblepot can become the new criminal king of the city. However, his journey will not be easy, given Sofia Falcone’s intentions to take back the city and exact revenge for her father’s death.
In other words, The Penguin doesn’t really need Batman, as it can survive very well on its own. The forthcoming HBO show is a great opportunity to take Reeves’ Batman franchise in a new direction by focusing on characters other than The World’s Greatest Detective.
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