I’ll admit that I 100% thought Rob Pattinson would make a cameo in THE PENGUIN when the series was first announced. It was a no-brainer, right?
Wrong.
Executive producer Matt Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc weren’t BS’ing when they told us beforehand (and during the series’s run) that Rob Pattinson was not in THE PENGUIN. They tried to find ways to include him in a cameo, they said, but could never make it feel organic enough to work. This was Oz Cobb’s story told through his POV, not Batman’s.
And they were right.
By the halfway point of the season, it became obvious that THE PENGUIN was so good, that it didn’t need Batman to prop it up. In fact, it got to the point where the inclusion of Batman and/or Bruce Wayne would’ve felt like contrived fan service. Ultimately, the Batsignal lighting up Gotham’s sky was all the Batman THE PENGUIN needed and made for a perfect ending and a proper segue into THE BATMAN: PART II.
But yet, there was a contingent of fans who continued to complain about the lack of Batman’s inclusion in the series — be it in physical form or simply mentioning his name.
Whatever.
RELATED | OPINION: Batman Isn’t Needed in THE PENGUIN
Here’s the latest from Matt Reeves, AGAIN explaining why no Batman in THE PENGUIN (because he’s STILL getting asked about it) via DIGITAL SPY…
This was a time of great turmoil in the city, it’s literally the week after what happened [in THE BATMAN]. Much of the city is in desperation, so police can’t get everywhere, there’s crime everywhere, it’s a very, very dangerous time. [Batman’s] out there trying to grapple with the aftermath of everything that happened, which to some degree he blames himself for.
In short, what he’s saying is that Batman is out in Gotham Batmanning, but there’s a lot of shit going on that he’s having to deal with. And those fans who are still disappointed, well, they need to deal with the creative decisions — the correct creative decisions — that Matt Reeves and Lauren LeFranc made.
That’s why fans, myself included, should just fan and let the creatives create.
One more thing that I’m sure some cause angst amongst some fans…
Matt Reeves added that The Batman will face some daunting new challenges in THE BATMAN: PART II which he will find it “hard to be Batman.”
Let the unwarranted consternation begin. – Bill “Jett” Ramey