Rumours about Robert Pattinson's Batman showing up in The Penguin persisted for months. Initially, it increased interest in The Batman spin-off, but similar to what happened with Deadpool & Wolverine and Taylor Swift, the show's creatives recently set the record straight:
"Rob is not going to be in the show," Matt Reeves said earlier this month. "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."
It was a disappointing revelation, albeit one that will ensure DC fans now aren't disappointed when the finale wraps up and the Caped Crusader is nowhere to be found. So, no, there was no Batman in last night's season premiere but we did at least get a couple of minor (yet still very interesting) updates.
A newsreader refers to the hero as "the Batman vigilante," praising his efforts to save civilians following the flood orchestrated by The Riddler in The Batman's final act. What might have passed you by is the fact this is the first time we've publicly heard him called "Batman."
The use of the word "vigilante" is also noteworthy. Why? Well, now he's been sighted in public during the day - and caught on camera - Batman has gone from urban myth to a crime-fighting vigilante it appears the people of Gotham City will rally around. How Bruce Wayne (who previously referred to himself as "Vengeance") will feel about this is something for Reeves to explore in The Batman - Part II.
We also learn that Gotham is a complete mess after the flood, with countless deaths and crime at an all-time high. The fact Batman and, by extension, Jim Gordon, would be so busy with that could explain why they aren't keeping an eye on Oz Cobb and the Falcones.
However, it's worth pointing out that the cartoon in the newspaper clippings below suggests Batman has been missing for several weeks...
The Penguin's cast includes Colin Farrell (Oz Cobblepot), Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo), and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).
The series is executive produced by Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, Lauren LeFranc, who writes and serves as showrunner, Craig Zobel, who directs the first three episodes, and Bill Carraro.
Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, The Penguin is produced by Reeves' 6th & Idaho Productions and Dylan Clark Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Reeves and 6th & Idaho are under an overall deal. Daniel Pipski also serves as executive producer.
The Penguin premieres on HBO and Max on September 19.