THE PENGUIN Showrunner Says She Used Series to Explore Interesting and Complicated Woman Characters
The Batman spinoff series The Penguin is looking to expand the universe that Matt Reeves created and will also tell a story that leads into the events of The Batman: Part II.
The series was developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and in a recent interview with Total Film, she talked about the show and said she used it as an opportunity to explore interesting and complicated women characters in the world of Batman.
LaFranc explains: "Very few women have been able to write these kinds of movies or television shows. I think my perspective on Oz, and masculinity in general, is different. And that made me also want to surround him with really interesting, complicated women.”
One of those characters is Carmine’s daughter Sofia aka Hangman, who is played by Cristin Milioti. She will make her own big play for power when she’s released from Arkham Asylum.
She goes on to say: “In traditional crime dramas, rarely are the women as interesting as the men. So I took this as an opportunity to see what had been done before me, to respect and honor the genre, and then to also evolve it."
There are so many interesting characters to play with in the Batman universe, and it will be interesting to see how they play with Sofia and how her story arc will play out.
Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oswald Cobb who is making his moves to take control of the criminal enterprise of Gotham. The trailer offers an exciting look at what’s in store for this show, and it looks like it’s going to be a great crime series!
The eight-episode Penguin series has been described as a “Scarface-like” series that will see the rise of the villain in the criminal underworld of Gotham City. It was also confirmed that the series will lead directly into the events of The Batman: Part Two.
When previously talking about the movie Farrell said: "I think it's going to be eight parts for HBO around Oz's rise into power, filling that power vacuum that was created when Falcone was killed. Matt [Reeves]'s idea originally was to have the Penguin show begin about a week after the end of the Batman film.
“And then, if it works, if the trajectory is interesting enough and if the audience go for it and we do our jobs right, have the second film – Penguin feature in the second film and pick up where the HBO show will end."
He said in another interview: “It’s dark, that’s what I can tell you about it. It’s really dark, and really heavy, I think, certainly it was doing it.”
When talking about the story he said: "It's one man's rise to what he's always dreamed of inhabiting, which is a certain power or social status. And the death of Carmine Falcone at the end of the film leaves this vacuum in Gotham to be filled.
“And so there are various people that are grabbing for that power and this is Oswald's journey, trying to rise to the top, through extraordinary obstacles and it's super dark. Lauren LeFranc wrote a really twisted eight hours of television."
The series stars Cristin Milioti, who plays female lead Sofia Falcone, and Rhenzy Feliz, who is playing a teen whom The Penguin befriends and makes his driver. The rest of the cast includes Michael Kelly (House of Cards, Jack Ryan), Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse, House Of Sand And Fog) and Deirdre O’Connell (Outer Range) have joined the DC series.
LeFranc previously said: “I have long been a fan of the world of The Batman, and Matt’s film is such a powerful and bold entry into the canon.
“I am excited and humbled to continue telling stories in the grimy world of Gotham City – and what better excuse to channel my inner villain than to tell the story of Oswald Cobblepot?
“I am thrilled to work with Colin, Matt, Dylan, 6th & Idaho, Warners, and HBO Max as we work to bring this story to the screen.”
The series is set to premiere on September 19th.
Source: GamesRadar+