John Turturro played Gotham’s crime boss in Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman,’ but refused to return for its spinoff, ‘The Penguin,’ which premiered on Max.
“I did what I wanted to with the role,” he recently explained to Variety. “In the show, there was a lot of violence towards women, and that’s not my thing.”
Although Carmine Falcone died in the 2022 movie, ‘The Penguin’ brought him back through flashbacks that heavily implied his brutality. “It happens off-screen. It’s scarier that way,” Turturro noted.
Despite the violent themes, the show drew a significant audience and received a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The plot focused on the power battle between Carmine Falcone’s daughter, Sofia, and Oz Cobb as they fought for control over Gotham’s underworld.
Colin Farrell reprised his role as the Penguin, with Cristin Milioti joining the cast as Sofia. Other cast members included Rhenzy Feliz, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, Carmen Ejogo, and Michael Zegen.
While the spinoff picked up shortly after where ‘The Batman’ left off, Farrell previously noted that his villain was “not thinking about The Bat at all.”
“I’m sure maybe there’s a scene we did, a night where he’s wondering is that guy gonna turn up, but there’s so much sh*t happening to him already that the immediate present is something that he’s struggling with greatly,” he explained.
The actor will reportedly return as Oz Cobb in the upcoming ‘The Batman – Part II.’ His show’s new episodes will continue airing until November 10.
