The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc has confirmed that Robert Pattinson's Batman will not appear in the upcoming series.
The HBO spinoff series will focus on Oswald Cobblepot's journey in the criminal underworld of Gotham City following the first film's events. It would also bridge the gap between the first installment and the sequel.
Some fans have been wondering whether the Caped Crusader will also make an appearance to continue establishing his presence as the hero of Gotham City. However, it looks like that won't be the case after all.
Robert Pattinson's Batman Will Not Appear in The Penguin
In a recent interview, LeFranc confirmed that Batman will not be making an appearance in The Penguin as they want to focus more on the street-level story of the series.
"I understand why people's desire would be to have Batman, or to think that unless Batman's in a show or a film then it doesn't have the same punch," she said.
"To me, I think it packs a different punch. Matt [Reeves]'s films are through the lens of the Batman, so you're high up, looking down on the city. It's a different perspective. With Oz, you're in the city streets, you're in the grit and the muck and the grime. He's looking up, wanting to claw his way to the top."
LeFranc continued, "So it's a different experience. I think Gotham is an interesting enough city that it deserves to have more doors unlocked within it, and for us to walk through those and see what we think."
Reeves added that they never felt any pressure at all to include Batman in the series and make it look more connected to the movies as they were eager to explore a different part of Gotham City.
"I don't feel like it's missing something fundamental. I feel like it's an extension of what is fundamentally there. We know this is the world of Batman," he said.
"You're going down a different alley. So the spectre of Batman is there. The spectre of the Riddler is there. The spectre of everything that happens in the last movie is there. It informs it. And it's exactly where we begin."
There were previous rumors that Pattinson would be making a cameo appearance in the series as the Caped Crusader, but that doesn't look like be the case at all unless they want to keep it as a surprise which is why they denied it.
Based on the trailers, the series doesn't seem to be interested in exploring Batman's presence so it's not surprising that he will not make an appearance and it will feel like a spinoff with the specific focus that they're telling with the story.
The Penguin is set to premiere this September 19 on HBO.
Would you have loved to see Batman in the series? Let us know in the comments!
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