THE PENGUIN: Matt Reeves On Original Plan For Major Death And Potential THE BATMAN II Joker Return - SPOILERS

THE PENGUIN: Matt Reeves On Original Plan For Major Death And Potential THE BATMAN II Joker Return - SPOILERS

The Penguin executive producer Matt Reeves has revealed that the finale's big character death was originally going to play out quite differently...

By MarkCassidy - Nov 11, 2024 06:11 PM EST
Filed Under: The Batman

The Penguin concluded last night with an eventful finale that set Oz Cobb on a path to an inevitable confrontation with Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight, and the show's EP and The Batman's director Matt Reeves has now weighed in on the episode's biggest moments and how they may connect to his sequel.

Reeves also revealed that the final episode's big character death was originally going to play out very differently.

Major spoilers follow.

Towards the end of "A Great or Little Thing," Oz shares a drink with his protégé Victor, before brutally murdering the young man. Vic was loyal to Cobb and had come to view the gangster as family, which was what tragically sealed his fate.

However, showrunner Lauren LeFranc had initially pitched an idea what would have seen the two becoming enemies prior to Vic's death.

"The one thing that was slightly different was [regarding how] Vic died. In the initial pitch, she envisioned how Vic was supposed to protect [Oz’s mom] Francis, and that had gone wrong. And in the struggle between Sofia and Oz, that Sofia was able to manipulate things in such a way that she turned Oz against Vic. And that would be this tragic thing. I thought that sounded great. But then, as we got deeper and deeper in, and she wrote the scene, she had changed her conception slightly, but in a critical way that I think made it even more powerful — an idea that was truly horrendous, but also profoundly tragic, which was that Oz needed to kill Victor because he couldn’t bear that level of vulnerability."

"Oz had kept him at arms distance and was using Vic as a pawn," he continued. "It was all about his ambition. But he had allowed this person to get so close to him that he couldn’t bear that closeness and that had to be snuffed out, that it could make him weak, and being weak was impossible for him. So that was the thing that surprised me and it made the scene even more powerful."

Reeves was also asked about Sofia Falcone's potential return for The Batman Part II, and while he wasn't willing to confirm anything outright, he did indicate that Barry Keoghan's "fresh" take on the Joker will be involved in some capacity.

"Anytime you’re going to approach any of these characters, you have to find a fresh way to do it. So that makes it incredibly daunting. At the same time, this version of Penguin is a version of Penguin that no one had ever seen. The only way to do it is to feel like you’re earning your place because otherwise you’re just doing more, and people are going like, 'Well, we’ve seen it, so what do you got for us?' So how can it be the thing we love, but also something we haven’t seen? That’s always the challenge. So with a character like that, that would have to be the bar."

Rumor had it that Keoghan is set to feature in his own Joker series before returning as the main villain in The Batman Part III, although James Gunn has debunked the report.

The Penguin stars Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb), 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 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.

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TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 11/11/2024, 6:51 PM
I’m glad they didn’t turn penguin into some anti-hero. Kept him a true despicable, unredeemable, villain.

The ending was perfect.
NonPlayerC
NonPlayerC - 11/12/2024, 11:32 AM
@TheNewYorker - yes perfect ending but why does everyone in dc have mommy issues
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/11/2024, 6:54 PM
It was when Vic said "family" that's when you could see Penguin be like 'oh shit, I really do have to kill him now'.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 11/11/2024, 6:55 PM
I knew they weren't gonna make Oz some sort of anti-hero but this show did a good job of slowly tearing him down from an underdog you could root for to the truly despicable character he is in the comics. The ending did a fantastic job of painting a portrait of Oz that'd fit right in any DC Black Label comic.
LilJimmy
LilJimmy - 11/11/2024, 7:08 PM
Oz legit liked him. Once Vic said "family", you could see the disappointment in Oz's face. Vic had to go.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 11/11/2024, 7:26 PM
Keoghan Joker sucks
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/11/2024, 7:32 PM
@McMurdo - I don't think he should be a main villain in a movie or even have his own series. Maybe just an antagonist in a Selina, Sofia and Harley Quinn-led Sirens series.
SuperJefe
SuperJefe - 11/11/2024, 7:31 PM
Do we still think there will be a Batman 2?
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 11/11/2024, 7:40 PM
@SuperJefe - weird to doubt it...
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 11/11/2024, 7:57 PM
@SuperJefe - Absolutely...Had no doubt about that. Now Batman 3 is up for debate.
Taonrey
Taonrey - 11/11/2024, 8:06 PM
@BlackStar25 - I say if Batman 2 does 800m+ than Batman 3 is guaranteed, doesn’t matter what Gunn is doing, WB only cares about printing money
bcom
bcom - 11/11/2024, 8:26 PM
@SuperJefe - The show was initially conceived to bridge the gap between The Batman and the upcoming sequel. It could definitely stand alone on its own without a sequel, but the first season was purposely written to be the bridge between the two movies. Given how popular this show was then The Batman Part II happening should be a no brainer.
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 11/11/2024, 11:27 PM
@Taonrey - Yeah. Thats what Im thinking.
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 11/11/2024, 7:41 PM
That show was great
Forthas
Forthas - 11/11/2024, 7:51 PM
It would be interesting to see if matt Reeves calls it a wrap on Gotham city after the third Batman film or does he sign up for more!
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 11/11/2024, 8:00 PM
@Forthas - I see him moving on. He could be an executive producer if they decide to continue. Im sure he would like to work on other things down the road
bcom
bcom - 11/11/2024, 8:27 PM
@Forthas - He'd probably stay as an executive producer but perhaps hand over show running duties.
Forthas
Forthas - 11/11/2024, 9:15 PM
@bcom -
@BlackStar25 -

My guess is that he does NOT move on unless pushed out. I imagine he would have other projects outside of the DC universe. I would liken it loosely to Ridley Scott while even though he has other projects, he pops in and out of the Alien franchise as a director or producer.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 11/11/2024, 11:20 PM
I know people want Mr. Freeze as the villain but I don't see how he would work as a villain in this grounded version of Batman. I think Scarecrow would be ideal especially with the Bliss drug introduced in Penguin.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 11/12/2024, 1:17 AM
Please no Barry Joker pleaseeeeee

I think most people are jokered out plus Barry couldn’t even get the laugh right. He sounded so weak and weasely 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 11/12/2024, 6:37 AM
@HulkisHoly - I agree, not only was the look just weird and off, but his tone and laugh didn’t have the gravitas that the Joker is meant to have.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 11/12/2024, 10:05 AM
@JustAWaffle -

Exactly!!
Forthas
Forthas - 11/12/2024, 1:40 AM
I think i am hoping for a Harvey Dent series BUT one that also includes James Gordon!
DarthNihilus
DarthNihilus - 11/12/2024, 7:50 AM
Oz killing Vic for his own ambition was the only acceptable ending.

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