Penguin's Lauren LeFranc talks about the evolution of the crime genre with complex female roles

The Penguin has generated amazing excitement among fans. The upcoming The Batman spin-off is set to hit HBO and Max in September, but anticipation for the series is huge, especially because of the immense popularity of Matt Reeves' The Batman and Colin Farrell's stellar performance as the Penguin. But more than that, the series' showrunner, Lauren LeFranc, has designed the upcoming DC Elseworlds project as a platform for creating complex characters.

The penguins created space for strong female characters

Lauren LeFranc, showrunner of The Penguin, had a flawless vision for the show as she revealed details about the crime thriller's development process. LeFranc recently appeared for a chat with Total Film for their latest issue to share that she planned to use The Penguin as a platform to “honor and evolve” the crime genre.

The upcoming series will also make room for the strong and complex female characters to have their say in the narrative, according to the showrunner. “I think my view of Oz and masculinity in general is different,” LeFranc told Total Film, adding that her view of the character led her to introduce him and “surround him with really interesting, complicated women.”

LeFranc also promised that the upcoming series would be very different from traditional crime shows, where women are rarely given the freedom to explore and develop their characters. “In traditional crime shows, the women are rarely as interesting as the men,” said the showrunner. Therefore, she viewed this show as “an opportunity to look at what has been done before me, to respect and honor the genre, and then also to evolve it.”

Cristin Milioti's character in the series would complement LeFranc's statement perfectly. Milioti plays Carmine's daughter Sofia, also known by the code name Hangman, who plays her own game in her hunger for power after being released from Gotham's Arkham Asylum. But this is just the beginning, there will be many strong female characters in the series that will add twists and turns to the narrative as it progresses.

The Penguin has been described as an “epic crime saga” that primarily follows Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin. Farrell's Penguin first appeared in Reeves' The Batman starring Robert Pattinson, which was a huge hit for DC. Now that Farrell is getting his own show for his character, a detailed picture of Oz Cobb's criminal enterprise would be the centrifugal part of the larger narrative, as he will face multiple forces during his reign as a crime boss.

The series continues the events of the 2022 film Riddler killed Carmine Falcone, playing John Turturro in The Batman. After the death of Kingpin, the organized crime scene in Gotham City has changed as Oz prepares for a confrontation with Carmine's bloodline Sofia Falcone.

The penguin will be incredibly violent

The Penguin seems to have license from Warner Brothers to get violent depending on the narrative. Although The Batman wasn't an R-rated flick from DC, Ferrel previously said The Penguin would go beyond the PG-13 rating. The series will be “incredibly violent,” he told MovieZine, giving fans the ultra-brutal narrative of the Batman Epic Crime Saga.

“It's been a long and really wonderful experience,” the 48-year-old said during his chat with MovieZine. He also assured that the series will be very “dark; that's all I can tell you about it. It's really dark. It's really intense.”

But filming the scenes with the narrative need for violence to underline the nature of Gotham City's crime world was an absolute pleasure for the actor. “That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I had a great time doing it.” He further stressed that the series was “incredibly brutal,” adding that the series “represents a man's rise to what he's always dreamed of, which is a certain level of power or social status.”

Additionally, the star of “The Banshees of Inisherin” said that Carmine Falcone's death in “The Batman” “leaves a vacuum in Gotham that needs to be filled” and that there are various people vying for power to control the city. “This is Oswald's journey as he tries to get to the top over extraordinary obstacles,” he added.

Rumor has it that Robert Pattinson will make a cameo appearance as Batman in the upcoming series, and this has caught the full attention of fans. The series also stars Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, and also features returning stars such as Michael Kelly as Johnny Vitti, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni, Deirdre O'Connell as Francis Cobb, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, and James Madio as Milos Grapa.

The Penguin is scheduled for release on September 8, 2024.

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