Warning! Major Spoilers Ahead for The Penguin Episode 1!
Episode 1 of HBO's The Penguin opens with a bang, literally. With Carmine Faclone dead, his son, Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), is the new head of Gotham's biggest organized crime family. But after a fateful run in with Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell), Alberto's time as the most powerful criminal in Gotham is cut woefully short. The tense opening scene kickstarts the events of the series, and reminds audiences that no one is safe. While killing Alberto leaves Oz in a potentially fatal predicament, director Craig Zobel, says that's exactly where The Penguin does his best work.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Craig Zobel explained the unexplored side of Oz Cobb that audiences will get to see in The Penguin. The character only appeared in a handful of scenes in The Batman (including one of the best cinematic chases of all-time), but The Penguin is blowing the doors wide open on Cobb's psyche. The weight of an entire organized crime family breathing down your neck would give any ordinary person enough anxiety to last a lifetime, but Zobel explained that is where Oz thrives.
The Penguin 4/5 TV-MACrimeDrama
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022's film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family's empire.
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
"Oz is a character who probably does his best work getting out of a problematic situation, right?" Craig Zobel said. With Alberto's blood on his hands, not only does Oz have to find a way to get away with killing the powerful Falcone, but he's also created a new job opening for himself, if he can play his cards right. Zobel continued:
"And so there's actually some part of his personality that... he can't resist shoving himself into problematic situations, pushing himself into a corner so that he has to get himself out of that corner. He has like an impulse that just happens, that doesn't come from a conscious place. Some element of his personality has him do brash things, and those brash things kind of put him into a place where then he has to problem-solve his way out of it. It was fun. It's a thing you see in the first episode, and then you recognize kind of repeatedly throughout the course of the series."
The Penguin Shows an Unexplored Side of Superhero Movies Close
As well as giving Colin Farrell another opportunity to shine as Oz Cobb, the philosophy behind The Penguin was to explore an often unseen side of superhero films... what happens after the hero saves the day? In The Batman, The Riddler (Paul Dano) detonates Gotham's sea wall, causing much of the city to flood. While Batman saved the new Mayor elect and the wealthier citizens, thousands were left to drown and starve in Gotham's poorer areas.
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"That, to me, is something that is super-exciting to be able to explore with HBO."
Craig Zobel said that The Penguin was created to explore the aftermath of the flood across Gotham. Set just a week after The Batman, the series follows Oz as he tries to work his way out of Crown Point (one of Gotham's poorest districts) to become a powerful crime lord. Zobel explained:
"It was also fun because when you watch superhero movies, the climax of the movie has something big and destructive happen, and it was fun to be like, well, what was two days after that, what was happening? It was a cool place to set a story."
New episodes of The Penguin will be released weekly on Max and HBO.