The new HBO series The Penguin is, naturally, focused on Oz Cobb as his ascent from low-level gangster in The Batman to a true crime kingpin worthy of the Dark Knight. While the universe being created by Matt Reeves in the film and this series is very grounded in reality, the set was littered with fans of the eight-decade-old DC Comics Characters. However, Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia Falcone, used to pretend to be a different Batman villain as a kid: The Riddler.
Paul Dano delivered a very different take on the popular rogue in The Batman, where his Riddler was a serial killer who believed he was fighting corruption. However, other live-action incarnations of the Riddler have been a little more light-hearted. Frank Gorshin famously played the character in the 1966 Batman television series. In fact, his performance likely inspired another limber, physical comic actor to don the green tights adorned with question marks, Jim Carrey. At a press conference for the HBO series, The Penguin actor often found herself pretending to be the male characters from the live-action adaptations of her era.
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"It's such an incredible dream...and I'm also a very lifelong Batman fan," she said. "So, I've been dreaming of this since I was very little. And so, like on a personal level, it was extremely surreal."
It's such an incredible dream...and I'm also a very lifelong Batman fan.
Over the decades, comics and their adaptations have slowly improved the ways in which they portray women characters. However, even for the little girls who grew up loving superheroes, the most interesting figures in these epics were often characters played by men. "I watched Batman Forever a lot as a kid.... I really loved it, and when I would play in my backyard, I would pretend to be the Riddler." Milioti went on to say that Nicole Kidman's psychologist character was not all that interesting, essentially there as just a love interest for Bruce Wayne. Miloti was drawn instead to "the guy who has to explode everything" or "Two-Face" who gets to "hang from a helicopter and flip" around.
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Characters like this aren't just more fun for children to pretend to be, but also are more interesting for professional actors to play. Milioti went on to praise Sofia Falcone for being a complicated, deeply flawed character who had the freedom to do truly reprehensible things. She also relished the fact that Sofia didn't "have to prance around...in short-shorts."
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The Penguin Showrunner Also Relates to Cristin Miloti's Backyard Experience
Series creator Lauren LeFranc also shared Cristin Miloti's childhood experience, which is why she wanted The Penguin to have great women characters. "I have vivid memories of driving in my mom's Volvo in the back seat and imagining myself as different characters. And I always would imagine myself as male characters, and I think it was because I found them more interesting. I think...it's because they were given more interesting stories and backgrounds," she said at the press conference."
LeFranc added, "I wanted to try my best to evolve [complex women characters], you know...being in this privileged position to be able to tell unique stories like this to...a larger audience."
I wanted to try my best to evolve [complex women characters], you know...being in this privileged position to be able to tell unique stories like this to...a larger audience.
Early in the press conference, lead actor Colin Farrell reminded everyone that despite the name, The Penguin is"not just the...Oz show. It's all these human beings that are so complex and multi-faceted." Along with Sofia Falcone, actor Deirdre O'Connell turns in an incredible performance as Francis Cobb, Oz's mother who has a condition and a secret that help the character transcend what audiences expect from the hardcore criminal's beloved mother figure. While The Penguin is not for kids, shows like it and those for younger audiences are doing a better job of giving all kids characters they can happily pretend to be in their backyards at playtime.
The Penguin debuts on HBO September 19, 2024 at PM Eastern, and the following episodes debut on Sundays starting September 29, 2024.
The Penguin
8
10
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
The HBO series based on the Batman villain follows the transformation of Oz Cobb (played by Colin Farrell) from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.
Release Date September 19, 2024
Cast Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O'Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi
Seasons 1
Creator
Prequel The Batman (2022)
Story By Bill Finger, Bob Kane
Writers Lauren LeFranc
Streaming Service(s) HBO Max
Franchise(s) Batman , DC Elseworlds
Directors Craig Zobel
Showrunner Lauren LeFranc
Character(s) Oz Cobb , Sofia Falcone , Victor Aguilar , Johnny Viti , Nadia Maroni , Francis Cobb , Salvatore Maroni , Milos Grapa , Luca Falcone , Alberto Falcone , Eve Karlo , Julian Rush
Avg Episode Length 60 Mins
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