At a point in their career, Hollywood veterans aren’t required to audition any longer. Robert Pattinson has now crossed that threshold. With many memorable roles under his belt, it’s no wonder he no longer auditions for every role he wants. But when you consider one of his most high-profile roles of all time, it’s a miracle that he was practically handed the role. 1d5sk

Some people claim to possess reality-bending powers, and Pattinson just might just be one of them. The Mickey 17 actor has a full plate in front of him. He’s slated to appear in a string of high-profile films: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love and Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama.  His secret to bagging such juicy roles? His imagination.

Pattinson’s superpower? Manifesting a superhero 2u6d2j

Robert Pattinson has always implicated himself as a cinephile. But when Matt Reeves’ The Batman began production, the imaginary audition line must have been a mile long. Initially, Ben Affleck was in view to direct and star in the movie before it suddenly took a hard left. In 2019, it was rumored that Pattinson had auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne during Tenet’s filming.

Fast forward to 2025, and Robert Pattinson himself would later disclose that he actually never auditioned for the role. During his press run for Mickey 17, he shared with Technikart that he pretty much manifested Bruce Wayne into his lap.

Listen, for The Batman, it was very strange. I never auditioned, and I had never played a superhero before. Two or three years before I got the part, I started thinking about it, when I really had no chance of playing Batman. And then, slowly, it was like an alignment of planets…

So what happened to the other actors who weren’t blessed with Pattinson’s immense powers of manifestation?

“Of course it's an emotional blow. It's also weird that this process has also somewhat become public. It's one thing to have your failures as one, it's another thing to have them publicly broadcasted to everyone.” — Nicholas Hoult on THE BATMAN auditions pic.twitter.com/sTHAcBAJvS

— best of nicholas hoult (@bestofhoult) November 7, 2024

British actor Nicholas Hoult its to having a firsthand experience of what this was like. On an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he referred to losing out on the role as an “emotional blow.”

I a week before we did The Batman test, I was driving in my car and I had the radio on and they were talking on the radio about how Rob was going to be the new Batman. And I was like, ‘Well, It’s not confirmed yet, I’m auditioning next weekend’.

Hoult was later cast in James Gunn’s reboot of Superman as Lex Luthor, alongside David Corensweat’s Clark Kent. So it looks like it all panned out in the end. Although the two DC films exist in separate universes, there is at least some likelihood Hoult and Pattinson walk by each other on the way to work.

What to expect in The Batman Part II? 96o4c

Matt Reeves loves to take his very sweet time with his projects. For some context, The Batman hit the big screen in 2022. However, news that Reeves had been hired for the job was already made known since 2017. As it stands right now, the only thing Reeves has promised DC fans is a darker, grittier Gotham in Oct. 2027. 

At the end of Reeves’ successful 2024 series The Penguin starring Colin Farrell, a character makes use of the words “No man’s land,” which has led many to believe this was an easter egg reference to the Batman comic arc of the same name. 

There’s so much to love about on-screen couples. For Batman and Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, it’s the classic will-they-wont-they, loaded with sizzling, unresolved tension.  In Matt Reeves’ The Batman, the cliffhanger ending left viewers craving more of Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz.

But over two years and an acclaimed spin-off series later, and we’re not even remotely close to seeing The Batman 2. We recently got a tease of the Kravinson (how isn’t this a thing yet?) reunion over the weekend, and while that’s a nice set of crumbs, it’s only made us want the pair together even more. 

Batman and Catwoman reunite. 2w1z1x

Robert Pattinson has been hard at work promoting his latest movie, Mickey 17, but that hasn’t stopped fans from obsessing over his brooding Batman role. The actor recently hosted a reception party for Mickey 17 in Paris and fans were excited to see Zoë Kravitz in attendance. 

In 2022’s The Batman. Pattinson played the brooding and tortured protector of Gotham City, while Kravitz played a young woman just looking out for herself. Sure, Batman and Catwoman aren’t an unfamiliar couple, but The Batman still managed to make the pairing fresh and steamy. Naturally, their relationship started with Bruce and Selina using each other for their own ends, before developing a begrudging respect for each other that led to an allyship, all while dealing with the potent sexual chemistry between them. Kravitz’s sultry and seductive portrayal of Selina was the perfect match for Pattinson’s stoic Batman, who she cheekily referred to as ‘Vengeance.’

Despite Selina deciding to leave Gotham for good by the end of the movie, fans can’t help but hope that there’s still an on-screen future for the pair. Both Pattinson and Kravitz were happy to see each other at the party on Saturday and posed for pictures together, setting off DC fan antennas everywhere! 

Matt Reeves confirmed to Deadline that filming for The Batman Part II will start this year.  And as the fans are clamoring for him to “bring my family together,” it’s time for more of the Bat and the Cat.

Robert Pattinson is still keeping busy 265r4h

All the while, Robert Pattinson hasn’t just been sitting around since The Batman. He’s probably the most in-demand actor right now. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen all the videos of Pattinson doing press in South Korea and adorably attempting to make finger hearts, to varying degrees of success. Even if he sucks at finger hearts, he’s great at winning the fans.

Directed by Parasite director Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17 is a sci-fi dark comedy that follows a man named Mickey who signs up to become an “expendable” employee in a space program. Anytime Mickey dies, a clone is made of him and given his old memories to continue the work. However, things get tricky when one of the clones, Mickey 17, survives, and now has to confront the latest version of himself. Pattinson stars in the movie alongside Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, and Toni Collette.

When Matt Reeves undertook the Batman story for a new audience, he promised that his version would focus on its often-overlooked detective element. And while he lived up to this promise in the first installment, the story of Reeves’ Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, has since evolved into a “will they/won’t they” soap opera with an ever-shifting release date. Now, Reeves has thrown another spanner in the works by not outright denying the possibility of his version ing the DCU.

Matt Reeves was walking the red carpet of the Golden Globes in of his excellent in-universe Penguin, which was nominated in three categories and won Best Actor in a Limited Series, with Colin Farrell walking home with a golden statue. Despite the successful night, what left tongues wagging was Reeves’ interview with MTV’s Josh Horowitz. They had a wide-ranging chat about Reeves’ work in the DCU, touching on the delays with The Batman Part 2, the possibility of Mr. Freeze being the villain in the sequel, and, most notably, the potential of Robert Pattinson’s Batman ing the DCU.  Reeves didn’t confirm that Pattinson is ing the DCU, but he didn’t deny it either. Reeves stated, “It really comes down to whether or not it makes sense,” and when Horowitz pressed him about what he would do if the executives insisted that Pattinson has to the DCU, all Reeves said was, “We’ll have to see where that goes.”

This could be huge news for fans who have long clamored for a cohesive and interconnected universe. Perhaps even more important to fans has been the continued development of Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne — lest this be another case of Henry Cavill’s Superman, where the character isn’t given enough screen time to truly develop. The Batman was great, but even its biggest fan would it we didn’t get nearly enough of Bruce Wayne in that first installment, as Pattinson was almost always in his cowl.

It’s worth mentioning that, after the release of the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman, it’s somewhat difficult to see how Reeves’ version of Batman would fit into the DCU. The version of Superman in that trailer could not be more different from Reeves’ world if they tried. Reeves is clearly prioritizing his own plans for his Batman saga and, as he’s shared, would only let his version interconnect if it “makes sense.”

The difference in tone could be an advantage, though, considering the nature of Batman and Superman in predominant comics is like night and day. The sensibilities seem fundamentally different; in The Batman, there wasn’t a single scene with midday sunlight, and the reverse is true in the Superman trailer, where not a single night scene is shown. The stark contrast between the two is what makes their meeting and collaboration so iconic. Creating a world where Metropolis and Gotham are too similar is perhaps what made the Snyderverse so polarizing.

Reeves was cautious with his wording when addressing whether his Batman will eventually the DCU, revealing only that he has had discussions with Gunn but not sharing exactly how those discussions ended. However, it’s worth mentioning that Gunn has already stated his Superman will skip the origin story, throwing fans right into a universe where superheroes already exist.

We personally think they can make this work — there are too many talented people involved for them not to figure it out. And we’d love to see it.

There’s simply no artifice in James Gunn’s filmmaking. Gunn is never shy about sharing with fans exactly how he plans to build his DC universe. Unfortunately for fans, he recently revealed that he has yet to see the script for The Batman Part 2.

Gunn took to Threads to address a rumor suggesting that Clayface and Scarecrow are slated to appear as villains in The Batman Part 2. According to Gunn, Matt Reeves, the director of The Batman, has yet to submit even the first draft of the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2022 film starring Robert Pattinson. However, as the CEO of DC, Gunn has likely had discussions with Reeves about the general direction of the script and the future of his growing Gotham saga.

Reeves hasn’t left fans high and dry, though. Earlier this year, he expanded his universe with The Penguin, a series set just one week after the events of The Batman. The show connected with fans and even teased the return of the Caped Crusader in its final episode. This project was reportedly inspired by Casey Bloys, the CEO of HBO, who convinced Reeves to adapt marquee characters for television, where stories could be explored more deeply than in a feature film focused solely on Batman’s perspective. In hindsight, this was a great and timely decision — not only has the show been a hit with fans, but it has also allowed Reeves to buy time and maintain their patience.

Reeves believed The Penguin was the best candidate to launch a spin-off series and revealed in an interview with Forbes that he hopes to create more shows based on his Gotham universe. He stated that his goal with Batman is to remain ambitious and craft something truly unique. However, this expanded universe has left some fans worried about the slow development of the main story — Batman’s central narrative, presumably involving the Joker, played by Barry Keoghan. There’s also growing concern over the potential for two Batmen to coexist: Robert Pattinson’s version in Reeves’ Elseworlds Gotham and whoever is cast in the main DCU.

Even by his own standards, Reeves has taken an unusually long time to develop his follow-up to The Batman. His Planet of the Apes films never took more than three years between releases. With The Batman Part 2 currently scheduled for October 2026, the news that Reeves hasn’t even submitted a first draft may discourage fans who enjoyed his grounded take on the Caped Crusader’s exploits in the always flawed Gotham city.

According to Deadline, however, Reeves previously shared that he’s been keeping DC executives updated as he develops the script, and they’re all excited about its progress. He has promised that the sequel will reveal aspects of Gotham’s characters that fans rarely get to see on the big screen while delving deeper into the city’s rampant corruption.

With such a long wait ahead, the pressure on Matt Reeves is immense. After all this time, he cannot afford for the film to fall short. Like James Cameron has been proving with his Avatar franchise, Reeves only has one true way to silence critics: Deliver a classic.

The following article contains spoilers for The Penguin, season 1, episode 8: “A Great Or Little Thing.”

The Penguin has come to a close with all the gusto and violence that could be expected, and fans only want to know one thing. Will Colin Farrell play the titular character again?

All previous reports pointed to not being very likely. Farrell quite famously told Total Film that the darkness of The Penguin affected him deeply and he had no designs on returning to the role.

“I never want to put on that f***ing suit and f***ing head again,” Farrell said.

However, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter following The Penguin season 1 finale, he recontextualized his earlier comments. Farrell itted that he had been venting about the difficulties of the shoot and how existing in Oz’s world had been a challenge. With more time, the actor has since reasoned “Never say never.” There may be a future where Farrell dons the elaborate prosthetics again to play the irredeemable gangster, he told the outlet.

“If there’s a great idea [for season two], and the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than it was the first season, of course I would do it.”

Farrell also explained that he is contractually obligated to appear in three Batman films in the Matt Reeves universe. He noted that he hasn’t seen a script for The Batman Part II but understands he may have five or six scenes in the film. The new movie has been highly anticipated since 2022 when the first Batman premiered, but now there is even more reason to fast-track it. The Penguin sets up a terrifying villain for Batman to defeat in the film.

The Penguin perfectly set up Oz’s villain era 28223m

For fans of Batman comics, it seems pretty evident what Matt Reeves will tackle in the next film. There is heavy messaging in The Batman that Hush, a villain never explored in live action before, will be the next foe for the Caped Crusader. However, the film would be remiss to not include the Gentleman of Crime.

In The Batman, The Penguin is comic relief at best, roasting the world’s greatest detective for his terrible Spanish. The Penguin continues this trend but develops a character arc that is disturbing until the final episode. The season finale of The Penguin shows Oz become so reprehensible that fans are practically begging Batman to swoop down and beat him into submission.

Season 1, episode 8, “The Great or Little Thing” shows the lengths to which Oz will go to become a true powerhouse. After s (Deirdre O’Connell) has a stroke that effectively leaves her comatose, Oz decides that he can’t ever be weak again. His only remaining weakness is Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), who calls Oz family in his final moments. Oz promises that he couldn’t have accomplished his massive power grab without his apprentice, right before wrapping his fingers around his throat and choking the life from him.

Many fans were willing to forgive many things, but this act, in addition to Oz killing his brothers and setting a woman and her son on fire, just further crystalizes his descent into true villainy. He exhibits no real remorse, even diving further into his delusions regarding his mother in the final moments of the episode. There is no question why Colin Farrell needed some time away from this character. Oz, who easily could have fallen into the trap of being a caricature, finally becomes the villain he was boasting to be and is now worthy of being included in Batman’s Rogues Gallery.

The Penguin has officially wrapped up its first season on HBO. After eight episodes of pure drama and nonstop shock, fans can’t wait to see the return of Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb in Matt Reeves’ corner of the DC Universe.

“Why a Penguin series">a second season of The Penguin depends on a few factors. One, James Gunn and DC Studios would need to approve any plans for it since the world of DC is meant to be unified now. And two, HBO would need to look at the ratings and see if it makes business sense to give Oz another season of crime and capers. For now, let’s hold thumbs this isn’t the last time that the Penguin will squawk on the small screen.

While The Penguin did a phenomenal job of keeping the focus on Colin Farrell’s mesmerizing Oswald Cobb, the series still leaves enough loose threads for fans to follow as we try to anticipate the plot of The Batman: Part II. Furthermore, The Penguin’s ending gives a clearer picture of how dangerous Oz can be as Gotham City’s new kingpin and where we’ll see some beloved characters next.

Francis’ and Victor’s fate reveals the true nature of Oswald Cobb a2j2x

When the credits of The Penguin’s final episode roll, there’s no question: Oz is a sociopath who doesn’t honestly care about anyone but himself. Since he’s so good at talking his way out of trouble, Oz managed to charm the audience, using the façade of a self-made man to hide his devious nature. After a few episodes, one could wonder if Oz was a villain or just a misguided soul trying to survive in Gotham City.

A look at Oz’s past, in Episode 7, helps to clear the matter. After all, Oz’s compulsion to be loved led him to murder his brothers, all while pretending to be Mommy’s good boy. Yet, Episode 8 hammers the point by showing how Oz’s need for validation has sealed the fate of Francis (Deirdre O’Connell) and Victor (Rhenzy Feliz).

In the final episode, Victor, inspired by Oz’s grandiose speeches about the less fortunate rising against the wealthy, convinces every second-in-command of Gotham’s gangs to seize power. This revolutionary coup gives Oz the throne he always dreamed of. Sadly, Victor is repaid with blood, as Oz chokes his apprentice to death without any previous warning. 

It’s not that Oz is not fond of Victor, per se. It’s just that Oz doesn’t want to share his crown, and Victor proved himself too bright and reliable for Oz to trust him to keep to his place. Victor is a liability for Oz, who has to cater to the boy’s big expectations on how the Penguin should rule. In short, by ing every gang in Gotham to Oz, Victor proves he’s too cunning to stay alive. Victor’s value expired once he showed Oz he could be more than a loyal lapdog, which gives us a spine-chilling peek at the Penguin’s head.

As for Francis, what she feared the most comes to . By the end of The Penguin, Francis is in a vegetative state, trapped inside the flesh prison she once called her body. Oz had promised to terminate her life if that ever came to , but of course, he doesn’t fulfill his oath. Oz is incapable of loving his mother and respecting her as a person. To him, Francis is just the source of the affection he needs to feel good about himself. That’s why he keeps her alive. Oz still has use for Francis, and he won’t let her final wishes get in the way of what he wants. The Penguin is a cruel narcissist, and the way he treats his mother at the end of the limited series proves it.

Is Sofia Gigante showing up for The Batman: Part II? 4o3x51

While The Penguin is primarily about Oz, Cristin Milioti stole our hearts with her take on Sofia Gigante. For a moment, it looked like Sofia was marked for execution since she was the biggest obstacle in Oz’s way to absolute power over Gotham’s underworld. However, instead of killing Sofia, Oz sends her back to Arkham Asylum, which is genuinely hell on Earth. This move allows the Penguin to blame her for all the chaos he helped spread in Gotham’s streets.

Oz believes he’s dooming Sofia to a fate worse than death. He would be correct if it weren’t for two reasons. First, Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) gets his job back at Arkham to protect Sofia as best as possible. That means this time, she won’t be subject to psychological torture the same way as before. More importantly, though, Sofia gets a letter from Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), aka Catwoman.

The Batman reveals Selina is the daughter of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) with one of the sex workers from the Iceberg Lounge. That makes her Sofia’s half-sister. Since Selina s Sofia at the end of The Penguin, Catwoman most likely knows their father is the actual Hangman. So, Selina might help get Sofia out of Arkham. Plus, the two women might be involved in the plot of The Batman: Part II.

What does the ending of The Penguin mean for Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight? 2e215u

One of the highlights of The Penguin is how the limited series shows the corrupt and inhumane modus operandi of Arkham Asylum. Since the prison for the mentally ill is such a cornerstone of the Dark Knight mythos, Pattinson’s Batman will probably revisit the place in The Batman: Part II. When that happens, he might learn what truly happens behind Arkham walls and try to take the place down or reform it. That would be the perfect way to tie The Penguin and the movies.

In The Batman, Bruce learns that his mother spent some time in Arkham, a fact his father did everything to hide from the press. Being the obsessive investigator we love, Bruce will probably dig deeper into his family’s past, taking him to Arkham. With Selina keeping in touch with Sofia and Catwoman being an ally to Batman, the three characters might work together to expose the nefarious things that happen in Arkham.

Following the events of The Penguin, The Batman: Part II also has to explain Batman’s inexplicable absence from the show. There’s just too much death and destruction in The Penguin for it to go unnoticed by Gotham City’s nocturnal protector. The Bat-Signal at the end of The Penguin teases how the Dark Knight will investigate Oz’s actions as Gotham’s new kingpin. Nevertheless, the movie must also explain why Batman was nowhere to be seen for weeks without end, as a new drug flooded Gotham and prominent crime lords fell like flies.

In an interview with SFX Magazine, Reeves revealed that Part II will deal with “digging into the epic story about deeper corruption.” Arkham is part of this corruption, for sure. However, the depths of the issue mean some influential people are pulling the strings in Gotham and might have subdued Batman during the events of The Penguin. Whatever the case might be, it’s going to be hard to wait until 2026 to see how the story of The Penguin unfolds.

As a spinoff of The Batman, The Penguin‘s story is tied to Matt Reeves’ beloved movie. However, Episode 7 pushes the show’s logic to its brink by not having the Dark Knight glide to an atrocious crime scene.

From a production’s point of view, it makes sense that Robert Pattinson’s Batman doesn’t have a cameo in The Penguin. The show is about Oswald Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) ascension to the position of Gotham City’s kingpin, so the creative team wants to keep all eyes on the villain. Of course, fans were bound to be disappointed by this decision, which is why Reeves warned everyone of Batman’s absence even before The Penguin‘s premiere.

Nevertheless, knowing the Dark Knight would not appear in The Penguin didn’t prevent fans from looking for signs of Batman in every dark corner. For the series’ first episodes, it was easy to think Bruce Wayne would be recovering from his battle against Riddler’s (Paul Dano) goons or maybe figuring out how to be more than a symbol of fear. After all, most of The Penguin’s events happen in just a few days. Yet, it became harder to believe Batman would not look into Gotham City’s gang wars after Episode 6, which features a significant time jump and shows how a new drug, Bliss, has flooded the streets.

Episode 7 takes everyone’s suspension of disbelief to its breaking point. In it, Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti) sends a bomb to Oz’s underground base of operations, literally blowing his business off the map. The explosion also creates a massive hole in the middle of Crown Point, the same neighborhood affected by Riddler’s flood. That means the people of Crown Point were already struggling to survive before the gang war blew them up into pieces. There’s no way Batman would just ignore this event. Right? Well, that might be the point.

It makes no sense for Batman to ignore ‘The Penguin’s events, but that might be the point 221139

After the end of The Batman, Bruce Wayne learns that he does more good to Gotham City when he tries to help people and be a symbol of hope than when he punches lowlife criminals in the face to become a symbol of fear. So, it’s fair to assume that Bruce is using Wayne’s fortune to help the people of Gotham recover from Riddler’s terrorist attacks. There’s no way Bruce would not be involved in Crown Point, helping to turn the lights back on, for instance. Yet, it’s the Penguin who does the job. Likewise, Batman would be all over Bliss once he heard about a new drug poisoning Gotham. But the Penguin’s only challenger is Sofia. There has to be a reason for this.

Reeves underlined how The Penguin sets the stage for The Batman Part II, the director’s highly-anticipated sequel. So, maybe disgruntled fans should start asking why Batman is nowhere to be seen. We can all agree that, at this point, it makes no sense for the Dark Knight to keep avoiding Oz. He had time to heal, time to rethink his crimefighting approach, and time to investigate the deaths of the Falcones. The only logical conclusion is that something is preventing Batman from protecting Gotham. Whatever it may be, it’s probably the threat from The Batman Part II.

There are still no details available on the plot of The Batman Part II, but thanks to Pattinson’s absence from The Penguin, we can know one thing. Someone has trapped Bruce Wayne or sent him away for a long time, enough for Oz to take control of Gotham. Whoever the responsible are, they surely will be formidable foes for the sequel.

By taking Sofia to Arkham Asylum in the latest episode, The Penguin does more than ensure Cristin Milioti gets an Emmy nomination. It also sheds some light on a canceled DC project.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers for episode 4 of The Penguin, “Cent’anni.”

After the third episode of The Penguin ends with the series most vicious cliffhanger yet, episode 4 takes us back to before Sofia was committed to Arkham Asylum. So far, the series has been giving the audience hints Sofia might not be the Hangman, a serial killer with a penchant for strangling sex workers. Episode 4 explains the whole affair by showing how Sofia has taken the fall for her father, Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong). What’s worse, Carmine only manages to commit Sofia to Arkham Asylum and drag her name in the mud because he had the of her whole family.

While “Cent’anni” helps us understand Sofia’s motivations, it also gives us a glimpse inside Arkham Asylum. The mental health institution is the place where Batman’s insane foes are kept and theoretically rehabilitated. However, the unsanitary conditions of the place might explain why the Dark Knight’s rogues also return to a life of crime. In her ten years inside Arkham Asylum, Sofia was physically and mentally abused, restrained by a corrupt istration, fed only slop, and exposed to other dangerous inmates that forced her to take violent measures to survive. How can anyone expect to improve their mental health in such a place?

With one episode, The Penguin has demonstrated how emotionally challenging a story inside Arkham Asylum can be. That might explain why Matt Reeves scrapped his Arkham Asylum series, one of the first spinoffs he conceived after The Batman. Yet, The Penguin’s latest episode also makes an exceptional case for reviving the project.

The Penguin shows how an Arkham Asylum TV show can work 28175w

Parallel to The Penguin, Reeves came out of The Batman’s production thinking about a TV show set one year before the movie’s events and focused on the Gotham City Police Department. Reeves later revealed that the concept had evolved into an Arkham Asylum series, shifting the focus to Batman’s villains. Considering the Joker (Barry Keoghan) is locked away in Arkham Asylum during the events of The Batman, this show could give us a glimpse of the Dark Knight’s actions in the year before his fateful encounter with the Riddler (Paul Dano).

The project took an exciting turn when Antonio Campos, creator of The Staircase, was announced as developing the Arkham series. James Gunn later confirmed that the show had been grandfathered into the new DC Universe (DCU), separating it from Robert Pattinson’s Batman continuity.

Initially, moving the Arkham series to the DCU seemed like a great idea. Reeves’ Bat-verse is so grounded that it would be hard to explore more comic-booky villains, such as Poison Ivy or Killer Croc. However, now that The Penguin gave us a taste of what a grounded Arkham Asylum may look like, maybe they should also find a way to explore more of the institution in Reeves’ canon. Heck, the episode even includes Magpie, an obscure DC character, so it would be nice to use Arkham to give some D-listers the spotlight.

The DCU is juggling many projects, and we haven’t heard a word about the Arkham series anymore. So, there’s no way to know if the project is even moving forward. Considering the fantastic critical reception of The Penguin, maybe it would be wise to give Arkham Asylum back to Matt Reeves.

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While The Penguin focuses on the aftermath of Riddler’s (Paul Dano) terrorist attacks, the show nods to Gotham City’s past. More specifically, the limited series reveals that Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb was inspired by a gangster named Rex Calabrese.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers for The Batman and episode 1 of The Penguin.

Rex Calabrese is a relatively recent addition to DC Comics. The villain is the product of a t effort by several prominent DC Comics creators. Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley, and artist Jason Fabok collaborated to bring The Lion to life in 2014’s Batman Eternal #14, expanding Gotham City’s mythology. However, the character’s DC Comics version is quite different from the one in Matt Reeves’ “Batman Epic Crime Saga.”

Who is Rex Calabrese in DC Comics? 296z2w

Rex Calabrese was a formidable crime boss who dominated Gotham’s underworld decades before Batman’s emergence. His reign was characterized by ruthless efficiency that earned him the moniker “The Lion,” a persona enhanced by his scarred face and the use of fake razor-sharp fangs. Calabrese’s approach to power was distinctly old-school, eschewing the theatrical antics of later Gotham villains in favor of more traditional organized crime tactics.

In DC Comics, The Lion’s rule over Gotham’s criminal elements ended with the rise of Carmine “The Roman” Falcone. While Calabrese lost control of the underworld to Falcone, he managed to avoid death by going into hiding. Adopting the alias “Leo Leone,” Calabrese was eventually incarcerated in Blackgate Penitentiary, where his true identity remained a secret for years.

The most significant aspect of Rex Calabrese’s character is his connection to Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman. Calabrese is revealed to be Selina’s biological father in a twist introduced in the New 52 era of DC Comics. According to this rebooted origin, Calabrese abandoned Selina at a very young age, leaving her to shuffle through foster homes before being raised by the Kyle family. Decades later, he encourages Selina to embrace her heritage and take control of Gotham’s underworld, urging her to unify the crime families under her leadership.

The Penguin changes Rex Calabrese’s DC legacy 415g1t

In the series premiere for The Penguin, Oz talks about how Rex Calabrese was an old-time crime lord who believed in giving back to the community. As Oz describes him, Rex was ready to use his money and influence to help those in need. Unsurprisingly, Oswald’s neighborhood threw a parade in Rex’s name after the criminal’s ing. The Penguin envies the love Rex got for his deeds, and his desire to have the same amount of respect is the driving force behind his ruthless actions.

It’s clear Matt Reeves’ has different plans for Rex in his Bat-universe. For starters, The Batman establishes that Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) is Selina Kyle’s (Zoë Kravitz) father. Furthermore, when talking about the Falcones’ history with Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), Oz mentions the family came from Sicily six decades before the critically acclaimed limited series events. 

Things are vague enough for Reeves to use Rex Falcone’s comic book history in projects. Nevertheless, it looks like he is making some changes by giving Selina a different father and playing down Rex’s influence in Gotham’s underworld. Be it as it may, bringing Rex Falcone, at least in name, shows how devoted Reeves is to the Gotham City’s mythos. Instead of just adding the name Rex as an easter egg, Reeves ensured his influence is felt through The Penguin, the unofficial heir of The Lion’s fallen empire.

Matt Reeves’ “Batman Epic Crime Saga” takes a grounded approach to the Dark Knight mythos. In this context, a simple gangster such as The Penguin might seem harmless. However, Colin Farrell shows why he can go toe-to-toe with the World’s Greatest Detective.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers for episode 2 of The Penguin, “Inside Man.”

In DC Comics, The Penguin is a gangster with a penchant for bird-related crimes and high-tech umbrellas he uses as weapons. So, while he might not be a great martial artist, there have been countless confrontations between him and Batman. 

After The Batman premiere, it was hard to imagine how the new live-action Oswald Cobblepot could become one of the Dark Knight’s greatest foes. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is a punching machine, while Farrell’s Penguin struggles to move around. Furthermore, since Reeves is taking his “grounded” approach to its limit by even changing the Penguin’s surname to Cobb, we shouldn’t hold our breaths for quasi-magic umbrella guns. As such, The Penguin lacked the tools he needed to cause Batman more than a light headache.

Fortunately, Max’s The Penguin changes the playing field by showing how dangerous Oswald Cobb can be.

The Penguin’s biggest power is his superhuman ability to lie 5x5p3t

In the absence of his umbrellas or senseless love for birds, Reeves’ “Batman Epic Crime Saga” highlights The Penguin’s other distinct traits: opportunism and sociopathy.

The first two episodes already follow Oz as he navigates Gotham’s criminal underworld, changing allegiances faster than Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) can follow. He tells the Falcones what they want to hear while working with Sal Maroni (Clancy Brown) in Blackgate Penitentiary. Meanwhile, he tries to convince Sofia (Cristin Milioti) to trust him with her revolutionary new drug.

Watching Farrell lie through his teeth and change his narrative with each new sentence is mesmerizing. That’s because The Penguin is not only tricking everyone around him, but he ends up believing his own words. It’s so easy to fall for The Penguin’s schemes because he doesn’t see the difference between truth and falsity. He only lives in the moment and does what’s best for him. 

At one moment, he full-heartedly believes that he’s helping Maroni take his revenge because the Falcones mistreated him, and he deserves respect. Next, he is willing to forge partnerships with Sofia as she’s the rightful ruler of the Falcones. As the perfect sociopath, The Penguin believes his lies, which help him conquer the hearts and minds of people on every side of the war raging in Gotham City’s streets.

The Penguin’s relationship with Victor is also symbolic of his opportunism. The gangster took the young man under his crooked wings and taught him how to become an essential player in the drug business. However, Oz can flip a switch, point a gun at Victor, and force him to lie with dead bodies for daring to make a mistake. 

Oz thinks he owns Victor and has the right to use him as a tool. Simultaneously, the Penguin genuinely believes he’s taking care of Victor and giving him the opportunities life took from the young man. It’s Orwell’s doublethink in its purest form, as The Penguin doesn’t lose a second worrying about contradictions if he gets what he wants. This doublethinking approach is also Oz’s primary instrument to inspire loyalty from everyone.

For now, The Penguin is busy with Gotham City’s underworld. Nevertheless, what happens once The Penguin becomes kingpin? Nothing can satiate the gangster’s greed, so he will most certainly stretch his wings elsewhere. With the people of Gotham rightfully mistrusting politicians and public institutions, there’s a lot of room for Penguin to seize power beyond the drug business. If he does, Batman won’t be able just to punch his problems away.

The first episode of The Penguin has a surprise for fans of Matt Reeves’ corner of the DC universe. In addition to bringing Colin Farrell back as Gotham’s most notorious mobster, episode 1, “After Hours,” also recasts a key character from 2022’s The Batman.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers for episode 1 of The Penguin, “After Hours.”

The Batman follows Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) as he helps Lieutenant Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) track down the Riddler (Paul Dano), a serial killer who targets Gotham’s wealthy and powerful. The Riddler’s goal is to unveil the city’s structural corruption, proving that politicians, police officers, and even judges all work for crime kingpin Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). The Riddler manages to kill Carmine Falcone before he’s brought to justice, leading to a power vacuum from which the Penguin wants to profit in this critically acclaimed limited series.

While The Batman marks the end of Carmine Falcone’s journey in Gotham City, the character has been recast for The Penguin. For those paying attention, Episode 1 already gives us a glimpse of Mark Strong as the ruthless leader of the Falcone family. While Strong is only featured in a blink-and-you-might-miss moment, the image confirms why Carmine Falcone has been recast.

Is Mark Strong playing the same Carmine Falcone as John Turturro? 4r6s2x

The first episode of The Penguin recaps the main events of The Batman. The series uses multiple news reports to establish that the Riddler has flooded Gotham City’s poor neighborhoods and killed Carmine Falcone. However, when a reporter announces his death, it’s not John Turturro’s face on the television screen. Instead, the TV channel has used an archive image of Carmine Falcone, played by Mark Strong. More importantly, Strong’s version of Carmine Falcone lacks the grey hair Turturro sported in the movie.

In the news cycles, it’s usual to select images of the deceased that show them at the peak of their career, when their faces became more known to the broader public. It makes sense, then, that in the event of the mobster’s death, TV channels use a photo of the criminal in his prime. There have been whispers about Strong playing a young version of Turturro’s character for The Penguin, but DC Studios has kept the lid shut on the project so far. Yet, with a single image in episode 1, the series has all but confirmed these rumors.

It makes sense for Carmine Falcone to return as a younger version of himself. Reeves has been adamant about avoiding any supernatural element in his version of Gotham City, so the mobster couldn’t just resurrect. Furthermore, The Penguin introduces Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), Carmine’s daughter and wannabe heir of his criminal empire. We don’t know much about Sofia yet, but the series already teases her as having a complicated history with her father. After all, it’s right after Carmine’s death that she leaves Arkham Asylum, where she has been imprisoned for a long time. It’s fair to assume we’ll get flashbacks in future episodes exploring Sofia’s past before she’s sent to Arkham. In that case, a younger Carmine Falcone would fit like a glove.

But why recast the character? Why not simply use special effects to make Turturro look younger? The Penguin is not opposed to extreme makeovers, as the show puts Farrell into an incredibly uncomfortable flesh suit. In comparison, it would be easy to tweak Turturro’s apparent age. Unfortunately, as showrunner Lauren LeFranc revealed in an interview with IGN, Turturro was unavailable. As LeFranc puts it, “he had scheduling conflicts, and we couldn’t make it work.”

Even though Turturro fans might be disappointed with the recast, there are reasons to be excited about Strong’s take on the characters. With his piercing eyes and imposing personality, he should play a terrifying Carmine Falcone.