THE PENGUIN: Matt Reeves Provides A Story Reason For Batman's Absence In The HBO Series - SPOILERS

THE PENGUIN: Matt Reeves Provides A Story Reason For Batman's Absence In The HBO Series - SPOILERS

The Penguin executive producer Matt Reeves has offered a story reason for Batman's absence in the HBO series, revealing that the Caped Crusader will find it "very hard to be Batman" in his upcoming sequel.

By JoshWilding - Nov 12, 2024 09:11 AM EST
Filed Under: The Batman
Source: Digital Spy

Across 8 episodes of The Penguin, the entire Falcone family is killed, Crown Point is rocked by an explosion, and Oz Cobb murders his way to the top of Gotham City's underworld.

As for Batman...well, he's nowhere to be found. 

The finale ends with the Bat-Signal lighting up Gotham's skyline but that's as close as we get to a cameo. Filmmaker Matt Reeves has already shared details on a scrapped appearance and, in an interview with Digital Spy, he shared a story reason for the Dark Knight's distracting absence. 

"This was a time of great turmoil in the city, it's literally the week after what happened," the filmmaker explained. "Much of the city is in desperation, so police can't get everywhere, there's crime everywhere, it's a very, very dangerous time.

"[Batman’s] out there trying to grapple with the aftermath of everything that happened, which to some degree he blames himself for."

It appears Batman was simply too busy to get involved with the gang war between Oz and Sofia Falcone; it's a convincing enough explanation, albeit one that it's easy enough to pick holes in should you choose to do so. 

Reeves did, however, go on to say that The Batman Part II will see the Caped Crusader finding it "very hard to be Batman."

In a separate conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the director addressed how the response to The Penguin has impacted his plans for the upcoming sequel, specifically in regards to the glowing reviews Cristin Milioti has received for her take on Sofia Gigante. 

"The movie is very much a Batman movie, so its focus is on Batman and Bruce. It’s very much taking Rob Pattinson through this this next leg and how the Rogues Gallery fits into that. So a lot of that was already in place by the time we were getting the dailies. But there are absolutely certain ways in which it has affected it. It gave us ideas and we’re going, 'Oh, we could do this.'"

"But we’re still talking about the bigger picture and the future and what a second season of The Penguin might look like. You go through a process where you do something and have feelings about them, and then you see it go into the world and it’s no longer your baby. It belongs to the audience. To see them connect to Sofia, of course, makes us think, 'There’s more there.' So again, I can’t tell you what it is. We don’t know yet. We’re just starting to figure that out."

Rumour has it Sofia will play a major role in The Batman Part II, though what that will look like when she's locked up in Arkham remains to be seen. Of course, she's not the only villain there as The Batman's Riddler found a new friend in The Joker when they crossed paths in the asylum.

All episodes of The Penguin are now streaming on Max.

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TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 11/12/2024, 9:38 AM
Giving the fans (customers who pay $$$) what they want ? take notes Disney.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/12/2024, 12:11 PM
@TheJok3r - lol… you got what you wanted out of this? Was Joker 2 your favorite movie as well?
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 11/12/2024, 12:46 PM
@slickrickdesigns - I hope you got permission from your mouse overlord to type that. We all know what happens when their yes-men slightly get out of line.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/12/2024, 12:57 PM
@TheJok3r - yes sir and Disney told me to let you know it’s ok not to fake liking Musicals to make your ego feel better about crappy output from your preferred studio.
mountainman
mountainman - 11/12/2024, 11:52 PM
@slickrickdesigns - This show was great.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/13/2024, 7:53 AM
@mountainman - in comparison to what? I thought it was average. Nothing special that I’d tell people to watch. (Same for Agatha so don’t just try play the Marvel vs Dc card)
At this point it seems like decent cbm’s and series are just stealing from already well like films. Penguin try’s to be like the sopranos, Agatha was pulling their style of story telling from usual suspects… etc

Nothing special anywhere except Deadpool and Wolverine which to me had a rewatch value higher than anything released post Endgame.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 11/12/2024, 9:46 AM
That or him being injured could work, imo.

It's only been a week after getting multiple bullets to the chest, being electrocuted, having a guy's head explode in his face and pumping himself full of venom....I mean the guy's human, it could work. It would be more implausible if he didn't have down time to heal up.
SummersEssex
SummersEssex - 11/12/2024, 9:58 AM
@Conquistador - Not venom
Conquistador
Conquistador - 11/12/2024, 10:09 AM
@SummersEssex - Ok then, adrenaline, the come down off that is horrible.
cacarr
cacarr - 11/12/2024, 11:50 PM
@Conquistador - Had he been "electrocuted," he would be dead. You mean "shocked."
BestAtWhatIDo
BestAtWhatIDo - 11/12/2024, 9:46 AM
Most of the killings in The Penguin are gang on gang, it makes sense that Batman’s focused on crimes that impact civilians. I don’t think they should belabor this point in Batman II and should just embrace the new status quo (Penguin is ganster number 1.)
AnEye
AnEye - 11/12/2024, 9:46 AM
Reeves did, however, go on to say that The Batman Part II will see the Caped Crusader finding it "very hard to be Batman."

Hmmm, I'm optimistic about it but this does seem kind of like what Nolan did for Batman in TDK, where he is realizing how difficult it is to be Batman to the point where he gave up to spread a lie. It's what he wanted anyway, to hang up the cowl.
HeraldNumber7
HeraldNumber7 - 11/12/2024, 10:25 AM
@Spoken -

going by other interviews with Reeves, it seems the difficulty he will be grappling with is the gray areas and where a Batman fits within the mechanics of Gotham. he had his black & white worldview exploded in the first film and i think he's going to struggle with what happens when you can't punch your way to justice.

in TDK it seemed more like he realized he couldn't do it all as an individual with an expiration date on what the human body could sustain.
AnEye
AnEye - 11/12/2024, 10:58 AM
@HeraldNumber7 - That's a fair point.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 11/12/2024, 11:13 AM
@HeraldNumber7 - very well said
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/12/2024, 12:14 PM
@HeraldNumber7 - Also if the Penguin is in City Hall then he's gonna do more good as Bruce Wayne than he is as an anonymous costumed thug jumping out of the shadows and punching people.
Ghoul
Ghoul - 11/12/2024, 9:49 AM
If Batman is contending with the court of owls for instance (rumored next movie villains/involved potentially ) I could easily see him being distracted enough to stay out of this Penguinnstuff. A Week after the Batman a lot of groups would take advantage of the circumstances so very plausible to me
AnEye
AnEye - 11/12/2024, 9:52 AM
@Ghoul - I feel like he was trained by The Court in the same way that Bruce was trained by the League of Assassins in Batman Begins. Only saying that because of his gauntlets.
Ghoul
Ghoul - 11/12/2024, 12:38 PM
@Spoken - I wouldn’t be opposed to that being a part of his training in this universe, and also helps deepen a connection to them so they can be a presence in the next one
AnEye
AnEye - 11/12/2024, 12:42 PM
@Ghoul - I agree. Or, he was trained by someone who was affiliated with The Court of Owls, but didn't know he really was. Maybe the gauntlets were a parting gift for him, but Bruce may not have known the significance of it, other than his mentor passed it down to him for combat purposes.
SummersEssex
SummersEssex - 11/12/2024, 10:00 AM
I just want a Batman movie where the likes of the Flash, Superman, and Mr. Freeze can plausibly exist.
jst5
jst5 - 11/12/2024, 10:23 AM
@SummersEssex - I mean they've done fine existing in the comics.....Batman would go from a low level thug...to Bane...to fighting issues with the Justice League.It's not hard to do just takes smart people to do it.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/12/2024, 12:16 PM
@jst5 - People with vision.
BruceWayng
BruceWayng - 11/12/2024, 10:12 AM
I loved this show and The Batman so going into The Penguin I was really hoping for a cameo from Batman. Now that it’s over, I am 100% ok with their decision to not have Batman appear I totally agree with their comments about how any appearance from Batman, no matter how minor it could be, would do way more harm to the show then helping drive the story.

With that being said, I do wish they at least mentioned Batman or Bruce Wayne at least once in the show, be it conversationally through Oz, Vic, the Falcones or Maroni’s, the other gangs, the police or political figures or even just a segment from the news like they did with Bella Real, recreating the press conference from The Batman.

It’s kinda insane that they didn’t drop one single line about either Batman or Wayne, especially when you consider the fact that Oz had multiple in person/face-to-face encounters with both of them. There’s also the arc Batman went on going from being feared by criminals and citizens and inspiring the Riddler and his incels to showing the public that he’s a hero and coming to the conclusion that he wants to help inspire good in Gotham too.

I think they could’ve gotten away with him not showing up if they somewhat mentored that he hasn’t been seen a lot since the events that took place during Election Night. There’s some marketing materials floating around for the show, one them being a copy of the Gotham Gazette or hat features a comic/drawing of the cops standing on the roof next to the Bat signal mentioning that he hasn’t r in weeks. The should’ve had the nightly news do something similar and mention his absence as well.

Now the cameos they did include were great and I’m sure certain new characters will appear in Batman 2. The only one we truly got cheated out on was Gordon. I would’ve loved to have had him show up at the very end when the cops arrest Sophia. I really hope we get a lot of Gordon in whatever spin-off show we get next.

cacarr
cacarr - 11/12/2024, 11:55 PM
@BruceWayng -

"... or even just a segment from the news ..."

He was mentioned on the news.
maxx
maxx - 11/12/2024, 10:17 AM
Don’t want a 2nd season of this show at all. It was perfect the way it was.

Use the $ and storytelling resources to do a different villain between part 2 and 3, it’s so damn obvious that is the right choice.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 11/12/2024, 11:16 AM
@maxx - i agree and disagree. yes i would want a 2nd season but i also agree it ended perfectly and would love to see the same thing happening with a different villain.

As long as i get to see sophia and penguins story progress than im happen
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/12/2024, 12:20 PM
@maxx - It was like DC's Daredevil, but at the same time it was also like their WandaVision. It feels like it should be a one and done. A singular, tragic piece. Everything makes sense from beginning to perfect end. A Penguin Season 2 would diminish that.

Maybe a Selina and Sofia show instead. Throw in Harley Quinn, make it Gotham City Sirens and that's where we can find a place to use the Barry Keoghan Joker, somewhere where there's no pressure on him to deliver (like if it was his own show or if he was the villain of The Batman part II or III).
ReverseFlasher
ReverseFlasher - 11/12/2024, 1:18 PM
@maxx -
@ObserverIO -
@MotherGooseUPus -

I think its better as a one and done. Oz had an almost comedic antihero status after The Batman, which made it easy to root for him in the series.

But after this series finale, specifically where he ends (in power) and what he did to Victor, itd be pretty hard to root for him going forward. IMO hes better off being his typical rogues gallery side villain from here on out.
Forthas
Forthas - 11/12/2024, 10:31 AM
This is quite baffling why people would think Batman could stop every criminal activity. If he could do that there would be NO crime in Gotham. OF COURSE...there are criminal activities that Batman cannot address immediately. He is one man in a city of millions. This should go without saying. Superman who has superspeed and superhuman hearing is unable to stop all criminal activities, but a regular human being can? What the f^ck are people thinking.
narrow290
narrow290 - 11/12/2024, 10:45 AM
@Forthas - Some Batman fans think he can do anything. One fan on FB claimed he could beat Silver Surfer with prep time...let that sink in
HeraldNumber7
HeraldNumber7 - 11/12/2024, 11:59 AM
@narrow290 -

it's the same thing when people complain about his detective work in The Batman. while he was naive and Riddler got the drop on him, he showed his intelligence throughout. he can't always make the right move.

as a huge Batman fan, this is my main issue with the "BatGod" depiction. i much prefer him in his pulpy detective roots as opposed to universe/world-saving superhero because he's way more interesting when he's a VIGILANTE and vulnerable to being fallible.
narrow290
narrow290 - 11/12/2024, 12:21 PM
@HeraldNumber7 - Absolutely man! i couldn't agree more
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/12/2024, 12:26 PM
@narrow290 - He makes a bargain with Galactus to gain the power cosmic in exchange for Earth and Zenn-La, beats Silver Surfer and then rewrites his own cosmic DNA sequencing to include a virus, sends it back to Galactus which in turns puts Galactus into a coma. Being in a coma he doesn't require as much food so Batman drip feeds him a kind of renewable energy using a black hole and a couple of tubes (he sets all this up while he still has the power cosmic).

With enough prep time, Batman not only beats the Silver Surfer but also saves the universe from the menace of Galactus as a bonus.
narrow290
narrow290 - 11/12/2024, 1:32 PM
@ObserverIO - Okay, we need to get this down on paper! Legit BADASS concept
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/12/2024, 1:36 PM
@narrow290 - thanks lol.
SpaceAgent
SpaceAgent - 11/12/2024, 10:36 AM
There's like a thousands reasons why he wouldn't be on top of this. Plus more shows should take notes from the final season of Better Call Saul rather than Solo.

You don't need to explain every particular detail of a story in order for it to make sense. An audience can simply fill in the blanks for themselves.

Anyway, here are some of the things he could have gotten up to:

The league of Shadows are back in town. So he's having an encounter with Talia that certainly won't bite him in the ass 13 years or so down the line.

He's more publicly helping out with search and rescue to become more than just a symbol of vengance in the publics eye.

Tinkering on the Batmobil. That takes a couple of days for sure..
speaking of: Installing a blast door in the batcave. Even Bat-themed infrastructure takes time to set up.

He's visiting Alfred in the hospital.

He's meeting Dick Grayson and takes him in. That takes a couple of days to getting used to

He's fighting KillerCroc in the Sewers somewhere. Travks and stalks him for a day or two Predator style completely isolated from the news cycle.

Speaking of: He has to attend a bunch of Wayne Enterprise related Galas Board meetings and "what is the stockmarket gonna say about this flood in the city"-type discussions that he can't sneak away from.

Prison escape from the male cell blocks in Arkham.
Jokers on the loose.
Victor Zsaz is on the loose.

New Cops are brought into the GCPD due to the anti corruption crusade and Batman is helping out Gordon to do some background checks on whether these new guys are actually as clean as they say they are.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 11/12/2024, 10:38 AM
Did the flooding just drain overnight into the sewer systems? Genuine question because we don't really see any of it. Maybe I'm the first episode but I can't remember.
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