Why The Penguin HBO Max Series Could Be Great...

A show following the layout of 'The Batman' while adhering to character-driven story.

Dec 04, 2022

In a previous post I mentioned that The Penguin HBO Max Series has been ordered and will begin shooting in 2023.

Colin Farrell in make-up to play The Penguin in ‘The Batman’ CREDIT: Warner Bros.

The head of originals at HBO Max, Sarah Aubrey detailed the series in an interview with Variety where she had this to say: “Penguin will sit immediately after the end of The Batman and temporally before the events of the second movie.”1

Colin Farrell was more than excited to play the character again for the television mini-series, noting that despite the tedious make-up and proesthetic process required to play The Penguin, his role, as henchman to Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro, was more of a cameo:

“I’m only in it for five or six scenes [as Penguin], so I can’t wait to see the film ’cause it won’t be ruined by my presence,” Farrell said. “It’s a freebie for me. I’ll get a little uncomfortable for the fucking nine minutes I have and then the rest I cannot wait to see how [writer-director Reeves] brought this world to life.”2

In this post, I will detail my ideas for what could make The Penguin show on HBO Max one of the best mini-series when it comes out, likely in late 2023 or 2024. A few key elements should be adhered to: (1) building on the aesthetic of ‘The Batman’ and (2) character development with character-driven plot arcs, specifically a lot of dynamic supporting characters, such as Charles Dickens novels, and a maze-like plot to steer it away from simply being another gangster epic at night.

Keeping ‘The Batman’ Cinematography and Aesthetic

The cinematographer for ‘The Batman’ was Greig Fraser, who delivered a brilliantly shot movie with a darker, grittier aesthetic than most superhero movies that many fans of the film appreciated. An example of how the idea of this noir-inspired aesthetic and way of shooting affected the director’s staging and shooting of the film can easily be seen in the car chase between the Batman and The Penguin that is largely, if not completely, from the Batman subjective point of view, as Director Matt Reeves describes it:

““I wanted to feel that kind of visceral chaos,” Reeves said, “so I wanted the cameras to be mounted, everything a hard mount as much as it could be. [The point of view] is totally subjective and hard fixed to this vibrating beast of a car driving through visceral elements of dirt and rain, and you feel like you’re sitting on that engine with him, and the car could come apart at any minute.”3

The Penguin mini-series on HBO Max should adhere to the contours Director Matt Reeves and Cinematographer Greig Fraser had set out in the film, instead of recreating an entirely new aesthetic. This does not mean the television show should look identical, but should make it clear that the viewer will be taken to the same aesthetic universe as the film.

Shots from ‘The Batman’ CREDIT: Warner Bros.

As Matt Reeves and Greig Fraser have described it in multiple interviews, the cinematography and aesthetic of the film was built from the ground up with some key elements (with many more unstated due to length of this article):

(1) lighting, color grading, framing, camera movement signifying Bruce Wayne’s “nocturnal existence and the darkness, both literal and metaphorical, engulfing both him and the city of Gotham as a whole”;

(2) pools of light or bright areas in the frame to contrast the darkness, but always from explainable natural sources;

(3) wetting the streets and sets to appear as it just rained building on the Batman’s psyche and the depravity of the city of Gotham; and

(4) the color not being as saturated as other films, Fraser describes as the color in the film being “dusty and a little dirty”.4

STORY IDEAS: CHARACTERS

Great story comes from great characters in great atmosphere made alive by great writing. The main character in the Penguin Mini-series is a great character in and of itself. He has similarities to Fredo from The Godfather films, except that he isn’t spineless. But he is ready to take what he thinks is his. In essence, he is filled with desire of a sort. As Colin Farrell states about the show: “We have to get into what made him the man he is. And also, it will pick up where this film finished off, I think. I think it’ll pick up a little short time after the last frame of this film. We’ll get to go on a little kind of left turn off to the world of Oz and how he’s beginning to kind of dream of filling a potential power vacuum that may exist.”5

While Colin Farrell also described the show in this quote, the plot hint he dropped suggests that, indeed, The Penguin’s actions set against this backdrop will be the driving force of the show, and should be. The rule is interesting characters make compelling shows. And the depths of The Penguin can make the television show a must-watch. As Colin Farrell further described the Penguin: “It’s a lovely, lovely character, and explores vulnerabilities. His violence is apparent, his propensity for violence and his ability to use it as a tool is apparent, but [also] to see we all have soft spots. Every single person. And to be able to find that location, dig around it would be fun.”6

But for the full-length of a television show, the creators would do well to include more plot threads, that tie back to The Penguin, but are led by other characters, some not in his inner circle. So, perhaps not co-leads, but large supporting characters can give the show more tension, more scope, and explore the universe further. The show should have, perhaps, a few supporting characters like a well-meaning district attorney, now that Gil Colson has been done away with, or a rookie detective trying to understand the world, a corrupt lawyer, members of other gangs, to further drive up conflict. These characters can quickly give credence to the world set up by ‘The Batman’ and further elucidate what the writers are trying to get across with The Penguin. The shows subplots can very easily, in this case, supporting the thematic concerns of the Penguin and the show in general. It’s a show that nearly writes itself.

When the show, if consistent with ‘The Batman’, has such as rich atmosphere like this version of Gotham city, the characters, main and supporting, need to be colorful and dynamic enough to give life to such a massive undertaking. But the plot, also, should not be to singularly set around The Penguin. He is the main character and most screen time should be about him, his circle, and his actions. But, even Better Call Saul, was about Saul, Nacho, and Mike, for the most part.

STORY IDEAS: COMPLICATED PLOT

As HBO Max’s Head of Originals Sarah Aubrey gave fans a preview of the plot:

“The goal of this is to show what Oz’s life is like and that’s very much in the streets of Gotham, trying to get up and over as only the Penguin can. As a hustler and a strategist with his own ambitions. It is a great example of having the time over eight episodes to tell a longer-arc character story with a lot of delicious twists and turns and new characters. It’s very much going to be about Gotham at that street level, because he’s not flying around like Batman does. We are all embracing that as a very specific experience for audiences to have.”7

HBO Max, producer Dylan Clark hinted at the storyline, likening it to another gangster epic: “Scarface.” “We’re doing one with Colin [Farrell, as Oswald Cobblepot], seeing Oz rise to power, almost like a ‘Scarface’ story. It’s exciting to do something like that just as a standalone, but it speaks to the character and our movie, so that you’ll go back to the movie [and say], ‘Oh, I see that backstory there, that line refers to this’.”

Some things are inherent to the plot described above.

‘You’re telling me that everyone will just fall in line with The Penguin’s plan?' ‘They won’t have questions about whether he can pull it off?’ ‘And if The Penguin that isn’t even part of the Falcone family thinks he can take over, then why can’t I (henchmen or small-time criminal) try it as well?’ ‘And won’t this destabilize the criminal underworld more? Why wouldn’t the Salvatore crime family attempt to take over the Falcone turf with all this happening or when The Penguin finally does get to be in charge officially?’

As stated above, the multitude of characters can easily come out of the woodwork. And the different power centers of Gotham: (1) the Salvatore family, (2) the remnants of the Falcone crime family, (3) bigger organizations like the Court of Owls, (4) the smaller street gangs in the Batman universe, (5) villains for hire like Mr. Zsasz. But the plot can be even more complicated and big in scope. It’s not good enough to have just another gangster epic. It needs to go further.

The masses of the city must do battle against a corrupt world akin to Marquis de Sade’s vision in Juliette- if the world is filled with vice, and vice succeeds more than virtue, why be virtuous at all? And these ideas, building on the themes I imagine are nascent to the plot hints were already have…shine a light on something else.

The bureaucracy of the city should also be in play. This can build on the themes I imagine the the storytellers of the show are thinking about but also make the plot more complicated and put us on the edge of our seat. The introduction of the district attorney’s office with a conflict between what is right and what is expedient and the Gotham detectives, many corrupt, attempting to solve murders can add another angle, especially feeling the effects of this vacuum of power. And perhaps someone in the bureaucracy might want power for him or herself. But the detectives running around the city…where might a clue lead to? Why might a victim of a homicide been a victim in the first place? Through the powers of deduction, adduction, the rookie detective can slowly discover more about the world and solve his case, but in his way are his own psychological proclivities, corrupt lawyers, a corrupt bureaucracy, villains…The story can show Gotham, the lesser classes, the corruption of the police force, and show actions of other characters- who murdered the victim, why, or did someone get set up for the murder? Maybe this story goes along with who actually manufacturers the ‘drops’ or the infrastructure in place

In conclusion, the show has massive potential to build on the success of ‘The Batman’, offer a series with a complex plot driven by dynamic characters, and show us where this universe is going, and if where it is going is something we want to see. Next, I’ll discuss the potential of another series rumored that I think will also have huge potential- Arkham Asylum series.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-harry-potter-and-just-like-that-season-2-1235428270/

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/02/colin-farrell-penguin-hbo-max-spinoff-series-scarface-1234702361/

https://www.indiewire.com/2022/03/the-batman-cinematography-greig-fraser-matt-reeves-interview-1234704530/