Posted in: Max, Movies, streaming, TV | Tagged: dc studios, dcu, max, the batman, The Penguin

The Penguin: Mark Strong Casting Confirmed By Someone Who Would Know

Mark Strong's casting in Max's Colin Farrell-starring The Penguin has been confirmed by someone who would definitely be in-the-know.

With Max's Colin Farrell-starring The Penguin set to hit screens this fall, there has been some speculation about who would be portraying one of the key roles in the eight-episode streaming series spinoff set within filmmaker Matt Reeves' "The Batman" universe. Previously, IMDb listed actor Mark Strong (Deep State, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) as being set for the role of Carmine Falcone – but nothing else much in terms of confirmation has followed since that time. But based on what Strong's personal trainer Giacomo Farci had to share in response to a question on Instagram, it sounds like he's definitely set for the series – even if the Carmine Falcone part is still a question mark.

"Working to some new exciting projects with Mr Strong. Always focused! (Slide right for some more STRONG focus)," Farci wrote as the caption to the Instagram post offering two looks at Strong in action – but the news about The Penguin can be found in the comments (and in the screencap above):

The Penguin: Casey Bloys on DCU's Advantage Over MCU

If you ask HBO and Max head Casey Bloys, it's not that viewers are having "superhero fatigue" as much as they're getting tired of the same old, same old. "I don't know that it's necessarily tentpole fatigue as much as it is a sameness of storytelling," Bloys shared during a media event back in November 2023 showcasing what's to come in 2024 (and a little of 2025). "I think the key, even within DC, is trying to tell different stories in different styles, to not try to do the same show over and over and over again. I would say 'Peacemaker' is a very different show tonally than 'The Penguin.' So, there's not a uniformity to the storytelling, and I think that helps," Bloys explained.

As for the issues that Marvel Studios is facing (having been the spotlight of a scathing Variety profile report earlier this week), Bloys sees it as being a problem of there being too much and too much of the same. "Unfortunately, Marvel, as good as their shows are, there's probably been a lot of them. That's one of the advantages we have at Warner Bros. is it's not just one set of stories. There's a lot of stories you can go to," Bloys shared.

Max's The Penguin 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 streaming series 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. 6th & Idaho's Daniel Pipski also serves as executive producer, and Rafi Crohn is co-executive producer.

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