The Penguin Has a Higher Rotten Tomatoes Score Than The Batman

The reviews for The Penguin are in, and they are positively glowing for the latest addition to Matt Reeves’ Dark Knight universe that began with 2022’s The Batman. That film also received high praise from critics, but even more surprising is that the new Max streaming series is scoring even better reviews than Reeves’ film, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes.

As of this writing, The Penguin is sitting pretty with a fresh rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. That means the series has a higher Tomatometer score than The Batman, which registered a still-fresh 85 percent among critics with a total of 529 reviews counted. The Penguin won’t come close to collecting that many reviews, so that has to be taken into account, but it’s still impressive nonetheless for the highly anticipated series. How the audience reacts has yet to be determined, since the show hasn’t premiered to the public just yet, but The Batman currently has an 87 percent audience rating on the site.

The Penguin will Expand on the Role Colin Farrell Started in The Batman

The Penguin is a miniseries that serves as a spinoff to The Batman, and focuses on Colin Farrell’s Penguin, who had a relatively minor role in the 2022 film. Development on the show began in 2021, with Reeves wanting to expand on the character more than he could in the movie, given the film’s expansive ensemble cast and other stories that needed more attention. Lauren LeFranc was brought on board to write the series, with Reeves and The Batman producer Dylan Clark serving as executive producers.

Another spinoff series, Gotham City Police Department (GCPD), was also in development, but it was put on hold, with the focus shifting more towards The Penguin, which was deeper into development. Craig Zobel, known for The Hunt and Mare of Easttown, was brought in to direct the first three episodes of the series, while Helen Shaver, a TV vet whose recent credits include Station Eleven and Vikings, is directing additional episodes. It was later revealed that the show would consist of eight episodes that would premiere exclusively on the Max streaming service.

Occurring shortly after the events of The Batman, The Penguin will chart Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot/The Penguin’s rise to power in Gotham City, as the death of crime boss Carmine Falcone has left an opening for someone else to lead the city’s criminal underworld. The series is also said to lead into events that set up The Batman – Part II, as Reeves and his creative team are set to begin production on the sequel at the top of the year. In addition to Farrell, the series also stars Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Mark Strong, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Theo Rossi, and Clancy Brown.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes