The first episode of The Penguin debuted on Max last week, marking our return to the perilous streets of a more grounded take on Gotham City from Matt Reeves' The Batman.
Despite the title of the series and the main character's moniker from the comics, we don't actually hear anyone refer to him as "Penguin" in the premiere - and, one or two instances aside, it sounds like it's going to stay that way over the course of the full season.
“I knew that Oz didn’t appreciate the term, and that was something that felt derogatory toward him,” showrunner Lauren LeFranc tells Deadline. “Gangsters in mobs often they have these nicknames for people. So it made a lot of sense that his nickname from others would be the Penguin. But it’s not a term that he embraces.”
We do see Oz carrying an umbrella at one point as a little nod to the villain's comic book roots, but we can probably forget about the monocle, top hat, tails and cigarette holder!
“I wanted to make sure that we could appeal to people who didn’t see it or didn’t think it was for them, who wouldn’t necessarily be interested in a comic book show,” LeFranc continues. “I don’t view our show as a comic book show. I view it more as a crime drama … certainly a character-driven drama. I wanted to make sure we could appeal to more people because we’re trying to tell stories that are relatable and a bit different. I do hope that people who aren’t necessarily fans of the genre would be interested in this show.”
We can see LeFranc's comments coming in for some backlash, as fans don't tend to appreciate when those involved with bringing these adaptations to the screen attempt to distance the projects from their source material.
As for star Colin Farrell, he is on board with the limited use of the Penguin nickname, but also brings up a scene that didn't make the final cut that he wished was left in.
“There are kids who say to me, ‘you’re a penguin.’ And I say, yeah, ‘that’s right,'” the actor recalls. “I got the sense that Oz was actually stepping into the moniker and into his own kind of mythos. It’s not essential, but I like that idea that by the end, he’s okay with it. He sees the power in having a moniker like that.”
Episode 2 of The Penguin airs on September 29.
The Penguin also stars 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.