With the premiere of new Max series The Penguin just around the corner, fans of the DC universe can’t help but wonder about the connections that the TV show will have with The Batman and its highly anticipated sequel, The Batman Part II. During an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, director, producer, and writer Matt Reeves explained exactly what you should expect in terms of connections between the storyline in the movies and the series.
Reeves explained to Weintraub that even though The Penguinis a direct spin-off from The Batman and features The Penguin himself (played once again by an unrecognizable Colin Farrell), the series will be a mostly standalone experience which may bulk up your understanding of the new Batman universe, but isn’t necessarily a required viewing if you don’t want to sit through the eight episodes. He did stress that you can benefit from watching it, though:
“Here’s the thing: I think that, in terms of it being like an epic crime saga, it is something that’s deepened by watching all of it. But the truth of the matter is that each one, of course, needs to live on its own. So ‘The Batman’ lives on its own. ‘The Penguin’ series lives on its own. ‘The Batman 2’ will live on its own, but it will be deepened by your having. You won’t have to be prepared for what happens. You’ll just understand that that’s the entry point of where this character is coming in and the events that unfold are unfolding in a way where it’s not like, oh, gee, I needed to see those eight episodes of that show or I won’t understand what’s going on. It’s not, really, it doesn’t really work that way.”
‘The Penguin’ Will Rule Gotham On His Own
From the sound of it, no event in The Penguin will have any major impact on The Batman trilogy, but it’s pretty safe to say that DC fans will want to check out the series while they wait for the sequel — which is yet to get a filming date, so it might be a long while before we see Robert Pattinson (Twilight) as the Caped Crusader again. And, as far as we know, Bruce Wayne won’t make any cameos in The Penguin.
The Penguin will center around the rise of Oz Cobb as the ruler of Gotham City’s underworld after the death of Carmine Falcone. Aside from Farrell, the cast from The Penguin also features Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother), Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), David H. Holmes (High Fidelity), Myles Humphus (The Equalizer), and Hunter Emery (Orange is the New Black).
Max debuts The Penguin on September 19. Stay tuned at Collider for our full conversation with Reeves.
Watch on Max
