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The Penguin Showrunner on "Scarface" Influence, Backstory Changes

The Penguin Showrunner Lauren LeFranc on the series vibing "Scarface" and how Matt Reeves' take on the character is different from others.

Even after a big showing at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 (SDCC 2024), DC Studios, Showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and EPs Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark's Colin Farrell-starring The Penguin still has a bit of road ahead of it before hitting its September 19th premiere date. Speaking with Empire, series creator and showrunner Lauren LeFranc shared how the death of Carmine Falcone has created a power vacuum in Gotham City – and that's exactly the moment that Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot has been waiting for to seize control. "Matt [Reeves came up] with this 'Scarface' story – a rise to power," LeFranc shared. "I turned it into a psychological character study of this man." Viewers can expect to see many more facets to Farrell's character beyond the Batman big-bad we've gotten to know so far.

"Mobsters historically are larger than life, so there is that slightly elevated quality to it, but he's just a man. A very complicated man," she added. Another major change is that this Penguin didn't come from an affluent upbringing, with viewers expected to get a deeper insight into our lead's dynamic with his mother. "This is what differentiates him from previous versions of the Penguin in the comics, where he used to come from a wealthy, well-known family," LeFranc explained. "Matt [Reeves] had already made him an underdog in that he was number two to Carmine Falcone in the film, but we didn't know anything about his family. So it was important to me that he comes from nothing, and he's really aching to get more status and be seen as more important."

"We're in Oz's world," LeFranc shared during an interview with EW ahead of SDCC 2024. "We're living in the underbelly of the city. Oz is a mover and a shaker. He can't always be trusted. He's very smart and very methodical, but he's also extremely impulsive. You can't predict what he's going to do." With the spinoff series set one week after the events of the Robert Pattinson-starring The Batman, the connections between the feature film and streaming series are pretty clear. But LeFranc notes that the series will also serve as a lead-in to the second film (expected in 2026). "We are the bridge between the two films. We're going almost directly into the second film Matt has planned," LeFranc added. Could that mean an appearance from Pattinson's Dark Knight? Really? Did you think they would answer that?

For Reeves, the vision of expanding "The Batman" universe across big and small screens during writing on the film. "As we were writing the movie [The Batman], I was like, 'Hey, you know what? I think there are some cool shows that we could do. It was actually why I wanted to make our deal at Warner Bros." In fact, Reeves notes in the interview that some elements from the original Gotham PD project made their way into The Penguin – and the team isn't done yet. "There's another television exploration we're going to do," Clark revealed. "We're looking at this entire world as it relates to who Batman is — the antagonists around them, all the crime that has to be navigated in the city — and trying to figure out where are the areas that are best to explore."

The HBO Original series stars Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka "The Penguin"), along with 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), Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush). Actors reportedly cast in unconfirmed roles include Francois Chau, David H. Holmes, Craig Walker, Jared Abrahamson, and Mark Strong.

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 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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