The Penguin Showrunner Banned Two Surprising Items from Set

Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe is a very grounded and realistic interpretation of the often eccentric DC Comics. The new HBO spin-off series, The Penguin, is an extension of Reeves’ movie and explores a new part of Gotham City. Interestingly, in order to adhere to Reeves’ brief, two iconic items were (almost) entirely banned from the set.

The Penguin sees Colin Farrell’s titular villain move from a side character in The Batman to the star of his own series. Wearing heavy, scarred make-up, Farrell’s iteration of the character is far removed from the Danny DeVito version found in Batman Returns and the Burgess Meredith portrayal in the 1960s Batman series. As a result, Matt Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc banned two of the character’s most synonymous iconography from the set.

In an exclusive interview with MovieWeb, production designer Kalina Ivanov explained the design process of building Gotham City for The Penguin. Ivanov explained that umbrellas and birds were banned from the sets of The Penguin to detach the gritty version of the character from his cartoonish comic-book counterpart. Ivanov said:

“We had a mandate not to use umbrellas, so there are no umbrellas on the set. And then we were also under mandate of not using birds, in the pattern, in the wallpaper or anything like that.”

However, Ivanov and her team were given one exemption, hiding some penguin-inspired designs in a certain set (though we won’t reveal where exactly they are hidden). The birds are one of countless Easter eggs Kalina Ivanov said were hidden across the numerous sets in The Penguin.

The Penguin Explores a New Side of Gotham

Set just a week after the events of The Batman, The Penguin sees Oz Cobb fight for dominance in Gotham’s criminal underbelly, following the death of crime boss Carmine Falcone. Standing in his way is Carmine’s daughter, and former Arkham Asylum inmate, Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). Moving away from Wayne Manor and the privileged upbringing of Bruce Wayne, The Penguin explores the slums of Gotham following the flood caused by The Riddler (Paul Dano).

For Kalina Ivanov, it was important to make The Penguin feel like it fit into the world of The Batman, whilst also exploring a new side of Gotham City. “In the very first creative meeting with Matt [Reeves] and Lauren LeFranc, that was the very first question I asked. ‘How much of The Batman would you like to keep?'” Kalina said. She explained that the color palette and lighting helped bridge the gap between Gotham’s wealthy neighborhoods and its decimated slums. However, much like it is in the comics, Matt Reeves wanted The Penguin to showcase a side of Gotham that felt very similar to New York. She continued:

“What Matt and Lauren and I basically agreed on, was that we were going to deal with worlds that were not portrayed in [
The Batman
], but were adjacent. So, in other words, we set our story in Crown Point, which was never shown in the movie. We’re telling the story of the have-nots, not of those who have.”