John Turturro recently said he turned down the offer to reprise his role as Carmine Falcone in ‘The Penguin’ due to the show’s violence against women, which was ‘not [his] thing.’
Showrunner Lauren LeFranc addressed Turturro’s decision while talking to The Wrap by saying, “I completely respect an actor who doesn’t want to take on a role for whatever their personal reasons. I only want people to join our show who are excited and want to further the story we’re trying to tell. I think Mark Strong did a really fantastic job. He made the character his own and also really honored what John Turturro did.”
She then added, “To my knowledge it was due to scheduling conflicts.”
Following Turturro’s statement, many noted how his Carmine Falcone in ‘The Batman’ was also violent toward women. The mob boss even attacked and choked his daughter Seline Kyle in the movie.
LeFranc reflected on the difference between ‘The Penguin’ and the original movie’s portrayal of the character by saying, “Carmine in the movie killed Selina Kyle’s mother and then does try to actively kill Selina, and also kills Annika – Selina’s friend. I think it’s been established, and Matt and I are in agreement on this, that Carmine’s a very violent man and has a violent streak against women.”
Mark Strong stepped in to play a younger version of Carmine through flashbacks in ‘The Penguin’ and received positive reviews for his performance. The show itself has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The cast includes Colin Farrell as Oz Cobblepot, Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, and Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, along with Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Clancy Brown.
