A spoiler-free discussion.
Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin
With the exciting news that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will be returning to cinemas sometime in the future, it comes as no surprise that the studio behind the film would be looking towards making bank on a slew of tie-ins and spinoff films from this new Matt Reeves universe. However, one puzzling and shocking choice of a spinoff from the film that has recently been ordered by HBO MAX is a series about The Penguin. The show will see Colin Farrell reprise his role from the film once more and most probably feature a deep dive into the seedy underbelly of Gotham City.
While there will be a select few fans, like us, who will be happy at the announcement of such a show, the upcoming series has most fans taking to the internet to express their utter confusion as to why The Penguin needs his own show. We would be lying if we, too, said we did not feel the same way, as we believe the show would be an unnecessary addition to the Pattinson Batman world.
This is simply because, as the facts stand, Colin Farrell’s The Penguin was in no way a central character to the plot of The Batman film. To take it a step further, the film could have functioned perfectly fine if the infamous Batman villain was never included in the first place.
Unlike the Peacemaker spinoff from James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, the character played by John Cena was indeed a central character to the main plot of the story, therefore, making a spinoff show more warranted than that of seeing The Penguin get his own show.
Of course, this is not to say that The Penguin is in any way a bad character or that the actor chosen to play the part was not good, but it just strikes us as an odd choice of show to be made.
In fact, we would have certainly applauded the possibility of a Catwoman spinoff show from the film, as Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman was featured heavily throughout the film. It would only make sense for the studio to want to ride the high praise the character has gotten from fans and critics and instead give the feline femme fatale her own show.
That being said, perhaps the studio and the production team possess a vision for The Penguin HBO MAX series that could turn out to be an entertaining and thought-provoking venture that we are unable to predict as of this moment. Perhaps, like the Peacemaker series, we, the audience, will be left pleasantly surprised once the series is ready to stream. Whether or not the series will be memorable, well, that remains to be seen.
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