When Matt Reeves directed The Batman, he had a trilogy in mind. After the success of his 2022 film, he and Warner Bros. decided to extend the story beyond movies and into television. On September 19, fans will get to see the result of their efforts with The Penguin, a spin-off series on Max. Reeves discussed how the series came to be and the classic gangster film that inspired it.
Reeves explained, “I had always intended to continue Penguin’s story and wanted to show his rise to power. In The Batman, he is an overlooked and mocked character, not yet the kingpin he becomes in the lore.”
In The Batman, Reeves chose not to focus on the origin story of the title character but rather on Gotham’s dark and chaotic world. Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne struggles with his own issues. Reeves wanted to explore how the film’s villains developed their characters.
Although the trilogy was not about Batman’s backstory, Reeves wanted to show the origins of the villains. He discussed these plans with Casey Bloys and Sarah Aubrey, who suggested using marquee characters for the series and not saving everything for the movies. Reeves explained that he wanted to continue the story from the end of The Batman, where Carmine Falcone’s death creates a power vacuum. He envisioned Penguin’s rise in this context.
Reeves wanted Penguin’s story to have a rags-to-riches feel similar to Tony Montana’s journey in Scarface. He said, “It was like imagining a Scarface story, and Casey agreed that’s the series we wanted.” The Penguin will pick up a week after The Batman and show Penguin’s journey to becoming a kingpin. This story will lead into the next movie, The Batman: Part Two, which Reeves and Tomlin are writing.
Catch the start of Penguin’s story on September 19, following the events of The Batman. Stay tuned for more from our exclusive interview with Matt Reeves.
