THE PENGUIN Showrunner Breaks Down Mark Strong's Debut As Carmine Falcone In Shocking, Standout Episode

THE PENGUIN Showrunner Breaks Down Mark Strong's Debut As Carmine Falcone In Shocking, Standout Episode

The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc explains the decision to replace John Turturro with Mark Strong as Carmine Falcone and elaborates on the shocking way things play out for him and Sofia in "Cent'Anni."

By JoshWilding - Oct 14, 2024 09:10 AM EST
Filed Under: The Batman
Source: Entertainment Weekly

During last night's episode of The Penguin, titled "Cent'Anni," a flashback revealed the truth behind The Hangman and Carmine Falcone's role in his daughter, Sofia, being locked up in Arkham. 

As you'll likely recall, Carmine was shot and killed by The Riddler in The Batman. In that movie, he was played by Transformers star John Turturro. However, in The Penguin, Shazam! and Green Lantern star Mark Strong takes over the role, adding yet another DC character to his résumé.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Lauren LeFranc confirmed the intention had been to bring Turturro back as the gangster. 

"Initially, did we want to be able to have John come back and be Carmine Falcone? Of course," she revealed. "John's a really talented actor and was exceptional in the film, but once we realized that his schedule wasn't going to work out for our show, it became quickly about who has that sort of gravitas and ferociousness, that Mark Strong actually does have."

"It was really exciting to see how those scenes turned out because he was so seminal to Sofia's story. We certainly weren't going to not have Carmine in our story. We very specifically plotted Sofia's arc to be interwoven with Carmine's arc, as well."

While Turturro and Strong aren't ever likely to be mistaken for each other, the fact this episode's flashbacks took place a decade in the past helped LeFranc justify the recasting. 

"They're similar ages, but a little bit younger," she explains. "You'd have to ask Mark, but I think he did look at the portrayal and the accent [in The Batman]. I keep using the word gravitas, but it was very important that he has a presence, certainly with Sofia, that there's a hint of warmth, but also something very cold at his center. It felt cohesive to me in watching him. It felt to me like that is her father."

As for the way things play out for Sofia in this episode (you can read our full recap here), LeFranc compares her story arch to that of Rosemary Kennedy, the sister of President John F. Kennedy who was lobotomized at 23 on her father's orders. 

"It's unclear how mentally ill she was or if she just did things that they felt were inappropriate and made the Kennedys look bad," the writer explains. "We're digging deeper into who [Sofia] is and why she is the way she is, but at the same time acknowledging flaws in our institutions, for instance, and the power that some men hold over young women. Who has a voice and who doesn't? Whose voice is silenced?"

We've seen all 8 episodes of The Penguin and while this instalment is a standout, trust us when we say there are still many great moments to come as Oz Cobb and Sofia Falcone go to war for control of Gotham City's underworld. 

Four episodes of The Penguin are now streaming on Max.

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MadThanos
MadThanos - 10/14/2024, 8:40 AM
Mark Strong is always WB's wild card.
BruceWayng
BruceWayng - 10/14/2024, 9:12 AM
@MadThanos - I always wanted to see him play Alfred. He’s too young for this new iteration in the DCU but I fell like he would’ve been great at Battinson’s Alfred.
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 10/14/2024, 9:13 AM
@MadThanos - should’ve been their Lex
The1st
The1st - 10/14/2024, 5:53 PM
@MadThanos - So strong, even the flops are strong. I don't remember anything in GL other than his Sinestro...
soberchimera
soberchimera - 10/14/2024, 9:20 AM
Bring him back as Sinestro for Lanterns James, damn the confusion it'll cause.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 10/14/2024, 9:25 AM
Just when I think I've seen the best this show has to offer, the next episode somehow ends up being better. I cannot believe there are "fans" of DC who think it's a good idea to cancel what Reeves is doing. This is by far the best DC has ever been.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 10/14/2024, 10:46 AM
@TheJok3r - This is far better than the work Reeves did. All credit to Lauren Lefranc and Craig Zobel. I wish Reeves' The Batman had the writing and character work that this series has. He shoulda had LeFranc help him write The Batman 2
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 10/14/2024, 9:28 AM
Great casting of Mark Strong as a younger Falcone!

And by the by, you can just go ahead and give Cristin Milioti the Emmy right now. She was Absolutley Amazing in last night's episode!

"I Told you I was F***ing Innocent!!!

LOL! While her face is splattered with Magpie's blood.
zeon00
zeon00 - 10/14/2024, 10:47 AM
@Nomis929 - the role of Carmine Falcone was recast & Mark Strong is not playing a young Falcone
Nomis929
Nomis929 - 10/14/2024, 11:22 AM
@zeon00 - So Strong will be him if any upcoming Matt Reeves Batman movies if they have any "Flashback" with Falcone in it? John Turturro is out?

I just thought Strong was cast as a younger version since this episode was in flashbacks at least 10 years prior to the current storyline.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 10/14/2024, 9:32 AM
It’s unfortunate they they couldn’t bring Turturro back as Carmine since he was so great in the film…

I enjoyed his genteel , soft spoken yet still menacing version which I felt Strong captured well also.

It’s interesting how in this universe so far Carmine is the big bad in that not only apparently is he The Hangman but he pretty much was the de facto mayor of Gotham etc.

He might be the most cunning & shrewd version of the character we have seen in live action thus far!!.

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TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 10/14/2024, 9:53 AM
Some cool Easter eggs this episode too.

Obviously we had Magpie who is an obscure Batman villain in the comics but Summer Gleeson aswell.

That character was a substitute for Vicki Vale in Batman:The Animated series (they couldn’t use her for some reason) in that she was a reporter who would try to uncover Batman’s identity and thus would get wrapped up in the activities of some criminals aswell.

She was created for the DCAU but has made some appearances in certain comics like Batman 89 etc.

From what I understand this is her first live action appearance.

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Also Dr Ventris could also be an obscure Batman villain named the Mirror Man but I’m less sure about that.

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RegularPoochie
RegularPoochie - 10/14/2024, 10:07 AM
Surprise, but a welcome one.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 10/14/2024, 10:26 AM
Such a great episode and I was surprised how well he approximated the performance from The Batman
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 10/14/2024, 11:43 AM
Not a bad substitute at all.
JayLemle
JayLemle - 10/14/2024, 12:07 PM
I was wondering why Tuturro didn't reprise the role..... but only for few mins. Mark Strong is also a great actor, and killed this role. Good lord, he's a terrible [frick]ing person in this episode. I won't spoil anything, but the small twist even [frick]ed me up.

This is a damn good show.
HAUSMAN01
HAUSMAN01 - 10/14/2024, 12:21 PM
Hoping DC lets this same writing team do other DC villains like Vandal User Comment Image Savage, User Comment Image Trigon,Professor User Comment Image Pyg,Reverse-Flash User Comment Image ,Circe User Comment Image ,or User Comment Image Brainiac
soberchimera
soberchimera - 10/14/2024, 2:50 PM
@HAUSMAN01 - I hope they hold off on Reverse-Flash for awhile, the CW Flash show overrused him.
The1st
The1st - 10/14/2024, 5:56 PM
@HAUSMAN01 - I know he's probably overused, but...Luke Cage = Vandal Savage. Done and Done. He'd even be a good fit for Ra's.
bcom
bcom - 10/14/2024, 11:42 PM
Mark Strong is great, no doubt. But it would've been the icing on the cake if John Turturro had of been available to reprise his role.

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