John Turturro played ruthless Gotham City mob boss Carmine Falcone in The Batman, but he didn't reprise the role for HBO's The Penguin spin-off series, with Mark Strong taking over as a younger version of the character.
Showrunner Lauren LeFranc said that the decision to recast the role simply came down to a scheduling conflict when asked about the change-up during a 2024 interview.
"Well, practically, John was just unavailable to us. He had scheduling conflicts, and we couldn't make it work, but honestly, I'm so thrilled that we brought Mark Strong on. I think he's really good. Even though, maybe in the beginning when you first meet him, you might think, 'Oh. Well, for fans of The Batman, I'm so used to John Turturro,' and obviously John's a great actor, but I feel like the gravitas that Mark brings, it's different," she added. "It's very specific, and I hope, by the end of that episode, you're just thinking, 'That's Carmine Falcone,' and you're engaged in what Mark brings to it."
Turturro offered a very different explanation, however. While the actor might well have committed to another project when the show was filming, he later revealed the actual reason he declined to return as Falcone for The Penguin
“I did what I wanted to with the role,” he told Variety. “In the show, there was a lot of violence towards women, and that’s not my thing. It happens off-screen [in The Batman],” he added. “It’s scarier that way.”
Turturro's comments raised a few eyebrows, since the violence against women doesn't all happen off-screen in The Batman - far from it. For one, Falcone brutally attacks his own daughter (Zoe Kravitz) towards the end of the movie, and almost succeeds in choking her to death.
At any rate, Turturro has now given a slightly different reason for his decision to step away from the role.
"I had done it already... I felt really good doing The Batman, and I didn't know if I wanted to continue to be in another series. I like to come in, do my thing, and then leave," he said during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
All of the above could be true, of course, and as disappointing as it was to learn that Turturro wouldn't be back for The Penguin, most fans would tend to agree that Strong did a terrific job in the role
The Penguin also stars 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 eight-episode DC Studios drama series continues The Batman epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster The Batman, and centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.
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 show 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.