WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from The Penguin episode 2.The Penguinepisode 2’s Arkham AsylumDCsetup gets explained by director and executive producer Craig Zobel.The Batmanspinoff series,The PenguinTV show, is continuing the wild adventures of Oz Cobb, while also fleshing out the universe that Matt Reeves began to build in 2022. InThe Penguinepisode 2, the HBO drama gave a better idea of what Sofia Falcone had to put up with during her time at Arkham Asylum.
In a new interview withScreen Rantto breakdown the events ofThe Penguinepisode 2, Zobel, who directed this installment, was asked if there were discussions to plant some seeds for the now-scrappedArkham Asylumshow through the Colin Farrell-starring series. Zobel said that there was"to a degree,“while sharing the following aboutwhether there were meant to be bigger ties betweenThe Penguinand theArkham Asylumseries:
Craig Zobel: To a degree. I think that by the time we were making this, the otherArkhamproject was going in a different direction and had different elements to it. So we weren’t beholden to anything, I should say. We didn’t need to set anything up. I happened to know Antonio Campos, who was doing that, so we kind of interacted a little bit, but that wasn’t really the goal of anything withThe Penguin, and it’s really just [that] we’re in Arkham to be with Sofia, really more than we’re in Arkham to be telling a story about Arkham so much.
What The Penguin Director’s Comments Mean
Based on Zobel’s commentary, it seems there was a willingness to connect the two projects, even if this isn’t what ultimately happened and wasn’t the intent of placing part ofThe Penguin’s story in Arkham. If Warner Bros. TV and Reeves were ever to gettheArkham AsylumTV showresurrected, they could easily pull from anything thatThe Penguinestablishes in episode 2 and upcoming releases of the series. However, while there are shared concepts,it doesn’t appear thatThe Penguinepisode 2 was meant to serve as a traditional backdoor pilot for theArkham Asylumseries.
A regular backdoor pilot for the potentialArkham Asylumdrama would have also required the introduction of at least one or two characters that would end up leading the series. SinceThe Penguin’sArkham Asylum inclusion is to establish what Sofia had to go through there, it wouldn’t have made any sense to suddenly introduce a major character that would then headline the spinoff. It would be more logical to haveThe Batman - Part IIplant a new player who can then serve as the eyes and ears for the audience inArkham Asylum.
Our Take On The Penguin Director’s Comments
Time will tell ifThe Batman’sArkham Asylumspinoff showcould ever get retooled, especially ifThe Penguincontinues to be a major success.Given the big investment there is inThe Batman’s universe, it wouldn’t be shocking if new conversations are perhaps happening about howArkham Asylumcould work, especially after a possible rework of the show itself. But for now, the world will have to wait and see what other aspects of Arkham Asylum viewers will get to see throughThe PenguinTV show.
The Penguinairs new episodes on Sundays on HBO at 9 PM, followed by releases on Max.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
