The Penguin To Explore Gotham Without Robert Pattinson’s Batman, Showrunner Confirms

As fans eagerly wait for The Batman Part 2, Matt Reeves is expanding his DC Elseworlds universe to television with a new series. Colin Farrell is set to reprise his role as the Oz/Oswald Cobblepot in the new series, The Penguin, which picks up just weeks after the events of The Batman. The show is expected to set the stage for Robert Pattinson’s next appearance as the caped crusader.

While many are hoping for a surprise appearance by Robert’s dark knight in the series, it looks like that won’t happen. In a recent interview with Games Radar, showrunner and writer Lauren LeFranc confirmed that Bruce Wayne will not make an appearance in the upcoming DC show.

Explaining why Batman is not needed in the series, Lauren shared, “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 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.

“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,” he said.

Meanwhile, The Batman director Matt Reeves, agreeing with Lauren LeFranc, shared that there was no need to force Batman’s presence. The filmmaker explained that The Penguin was a natural extension of the Batman world. According to him, even though the show focuses on different characters and story arcs, the presence of Bruce Wayne and the events from the previous movie will influence the series.

“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,” Matt added.

The Penguin series, featuring Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Michael Zegen, Carmen Ejogo and Theo Rossi, is scheduled to release on September 20.