Craig Zobel on How ‘The Penguin’ Elevates ‘The Batman’s PG-13 Rating: “Yeah, the truth was that it didn’t limit us.”

As a longtime fan of both Colin Farrell and The Penguin, I must say that I was initially skeptical when he was cast as our feathered friend in ‘The Batman’. However, Farrell’s performance was nothing short of outstanding, leaving us begging for more. Now, HBO has graciously granted our wishes with a stand-alone series, and it’s been hailed as a masterpiece!


A number of viewers had reservations when it was announced that Colin Farrell would take on the role of Oz Cobb, or The Penguin, in Matt Reeves’ movie ‘The Batman’, as they were unsure about how his interpretation of the character would turn out.

Yet, the Irish Oscar nominee’s exceptional performance prompted HBO to immediately commission a solo series featuring The Penguin, with Farrell reprising his role. The program has garnered acclaim as a masterwork, which is why we’re covering it at this moment.

To delve deeper into the series’ background and provide additional insights about the program, we came across an engaging interview with director of “The Penguin,” Craig Zobel, conducted by ScreenRant. In this conversation, he addressed several intriguing questions regarding the show’s development. This article will share his responses with you.

The interview was part of the promotion for the series premiere, and Zobel revealed some interesting details about the show. One of the questions asked was related to how the series reacted to The Batman being PG-13 and how the series planned on elevating that rating, and here is what Zobel said:

As a gamer putting my thoughts into words, I’ve been pondering on The Batman’s PG-13 rating, but the TV series feels like it should be a hard TV-MA. From your director’s perspective, what kind of creative liberty did you find in not having to adhere to such restrictive guidelines?

Craig Zobel: Essentially, the lack of restrictions allowed us free rein. We didn’t ponder over creating a watered-down PG-13 version, more like, ‘What a fantastic opportunity! Can we pull this off?’ There was no such discussion about it.

We didn’t intentionally aim to make it excessively mature, but rather, this style allowed us to create the most intense and memorable scenes. It provided a sense of freedom for us as creators.

Are there any subtle aspects or interesting features from the early episodes that you’re particularly fond of and would recommend viewers to take notice of?

Craig Zobel suggests that there may be hidden aspects to The Penguin character, not referring to Colin Farrell’s portrayal but the iconic version of the character. Initially, the idea was to avoid any traditional elements associated with the character. In other words, they wanted to create something fresh and original, departing from the old stories.

However, consider reflecting on your actions and thinking something like, “Perhaps he would carry an umbrella in such heavy rain.” This game we played was about subtly introducing elements throughout the series that embody the essence of The Penguin within our unique world. By episode seven, this development might occur, while by episode eight, another aspect could be revealed. We had these discussions well in advance to plan when and how to incorporate these symbolic representations of The Penguin.

Source: ScreenRant

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2024-10-01 18:44