Despite all the desperate hopes from fans everywhere, the Caped Crusader will not be making an appearance in DC’s upcoming venture. When the Penguin (Colin Farrell) sets to conquer Gotham in the Max series, Robert Pattinson’s Batman is not slated to be knocking heads. The Penguin takes place in the week following the ending of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, making many assume a cameo of some sort would occur. The team behind the limited series says this is not the case. In a recent conversation with SFX Magazine, showrunner Lauren LeFranc explained that the show would be able to stand apart in that regard.
“To me I think it packs a different punch. Matt’s films are through the lens of the Batman, so you’re high up, looking down on the city. It’s a different perspective. With Oz, you’re in the city streets, you’re in the grit and the muck and the grime. He’s looking up, wanting to claw his way to the top.
LeFranc went on to say that Gotham is so dynamic that it doesn’t always need Batman haunting the shadows. The Penguin isn’t the Zodiac-style mystery thriller. The Batman was a meditation on grief and trauma, centering on the Dark Knight’s experiences. While also a gritty take on the DC world, The Penguin is a crime story at its heart about a mad power grab between some of the most powerful families in Gotham. Adding a rich playboy with a utility belt just to fit in a cameo would be fan service at the highest level and take away from the significance of the central story.
Matt Reeves Supports Batman’s Absence
LeFranc isn’t the one creative who is committed to The Penguin standing on its own two feet. Reeves also submitted his approval for the Max series. “I don’t feel like it’s missing something fundamental,” The Batman director stated. “I feel like it’s an extension of what is fundamentally there. We know this is the world of Batman.” This tactic is the same that many other DC shows adopt, even if they’re wildly different in tone. The animated series Harley Quinn portrays a character that has always been peripheral to Batman, but the vigilante is a rare sighting in the series. When he is, he is used for comic relief, playing on the serious gravitas of the character in live-action.
In any case, fans will get more than enough of Pattinson’s portrayal in the imminent sequel. The Batman Part II is set to start filming next year and will provide more of The World’s Greatest Detective — as well as who knows what other villains. Until then, fans can get their Gotham fill when The Penguin premieres on Max all weekend long, starting September 19.
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