We're just a couple of days away from The Penguin premiering on HBO/Max and, while the DC series has received glowing reviews from critics, there's one creative decision which is bugging a lot of fans.
In the comics, The Penguin is also known as Ozwald Cobblepot. It's a pretty over-the-top name, yes, and The Batman shortened it to "Oz" for the sake of realism given what a grounded world filmmaker Matt Reeves has created for his Dark Knight.
However, in The Penguin, it's confirmed that the villain's new name in this "Bat-verse" is simply Oz Cobb. That's not just a shortening of the full version either; it's a completely different name for the character.
"They never got around to changing his name in the comics like they did with the Riddler, going from Edward Nigma to Edward Nashton, from an unreal name to a real name," producer Dylan Clark said in the latest SFX Magazine. "By doing that they grounded the character."
"We had a lot of conversations with DC Comics and with Jim Lee [President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer]," he continued. "They had thought about changing his name at some point but had never done it. Matt asked, 'Can I call our character Oz Cobb?' And Jim said, 'Absolutely!' So we got a blessing from the king himself. That small change of the name allowed us to look at this character in a grounded way."
Writer and showrunner Lauren LeFranc added, "Matt's created new canon in his film, and I'm creating new canon in this show. We have characters you're familiar with but there's a different spin on them."
"It felt like in the Gotham City that Matt created in his film, Cobblepott seemed less of a real person in the way that Cobb is a real last name. He's a gangster and it just kind of felt more correct."
The justification is hard to argue with but is it a necessary change? That's what fans on social media are now debating, with the majority seemingly arguing that it's a silly alteration and one which goes against the comics in a way a lot of people don't appreciate.
A new critics TV spot for The Penguin has also been released which you can check out below.
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.