‘The Penguin’: Why You Won’t Hear The Nickname Uttered Much In The HBO Series
deadline.comHe’s called “Oz,” “Oswald,” “little bitch” and “weak little pussy boy” in the first episode. But not once does anyone refer to Colin Farrell‘s title character as “the penguin.” And that’s pretty much how it is going to stay over the next eight episodes of the HBO series.
Though previous live action and animated depictions of the villain Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot have leaned into the distinctive moniker, The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc says she uses it sparingly for a reason in the series that following the events of Matt Reeves‘ The Batman. “I knew that Oz didn’t appreciate the term, and that was something that felt derogatory toward him,” LeFranc tells Deadline. “Gangsters in mobs often they have these nicknames for people.
So it made a lot of sense that his nickname from others would be the Penguin. But it’s not a term that he embraces.” In fact, LeFranc tried to steer clear of any features that have made the comic book character so distinctive over the years.
She does pay homage to the Penguin mythology by having Farrell use an umbrella early on in the pilot (sans built-in weaponry like a gun or flame thrower, of course).
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