Highlights
- Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oswald Cobblepot in a spinoff series from The Batman, focusing on his rise to power as the criminal mastermind Penguin.
- Sofia Falcone, a member of the Falcone crime family, will play a prominent role in The Penguin, seeking revenge against Two-Face for her father's murder.
- Cristin Milioti takes on the role of Sofia Falcone, showcasing her versatile acting abilities and potentially deviating from the character's comic book portrayal.
Colin Farrel is reprising his role as Oswald Cobblepot in a spinoff series from Matt Reeves' The Batman for the Max streaming service because of his brilliant portrayal of the criminal mastermind. The miniseries, The Penguin follows Oswald Cobblepot as he goes from a disfigured nobody to a prominent gangster in Gotham's underworld. The show presumably takes place a mere week after the events of The Batman, leaving Gotham's filth to deal with the power vacuum left behind by Carmine Falcone's death.
The battle for the seat at the head of the table won't be easily earned as there are players all over the city. Longtime Batman fans will recognize one such player who is formidable in her own right. Sofia Falcone isn't a character audiences will easily recognize outside of comics. Even casual comic fans might not know the name due to her limited appearances. So, who is she and what should fans expect from her presence in The Penguin?
Sofia Falcone in Batman Comics
As the surname suggests, Sofia is a member of the Falcone crime family. In fact, she's Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's eldest child with two other siblings behind her. The crime family heiress made her comic book debut in Jeph Loeb's and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween where she's sprung from prison after a serial killer known as Holiday kills someone on every holiday of the year. Once the murderer targets members of the Falcone family, Sofia becomes her father's right-hand man.
Eventually, Holiday murders several members of the Falcone family and dwindles the number of prominent mobsters in Gotham, giving rise to the more outlandish villains like Joker and Two-Face. By the end of the story, Two-Face kills Carmine, Holiday is ultimately unmasked and revealed to be Sofia's younger brother Alberto, and Sofia fights Catwoman which ends with the mafioso falling out a window and seemingly perishing.
However, Sofia returns in The Long Halloween's sequel Dark Victory in which she becomes the head of the Roman Criminal Empire. She goes on to unite the remaining crime families and launches an all-out war against Two-Face, exacting revenge for the murder of her father. She devises an intricate plan to murder various prominent law enforcement and public officials who all assisted Harvey Dent before he became the disfigured Two-Face. Even more devious, she frames Dent for each murder.
While Sofia Falcone's presence in the comics is brief, it's a compelling character study of her descent into madness. Her obsession with her father's legacy and the downfall of Gotham's freakish criminals drives her to madness, essentially turning her into one of the same types of criminals she hates. There are several ways an actress can take the role, but in the world of The Batman, it's going to be the darkest one possible. Sofia Falcone requires a talented actress who can show audiences her cleverness and deviousness.
Who is Playing Sofia Falcone in The Penguin?
The Penguin won't be Sofia Falcone's first appearance in a Batman television series. In fact, it won't even be her first live-action appearance. Gotham showed a ruthless Sofia Falcone played by Teen Wolf's Crystal Reed who eventually served as a love interest for the show's Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). However, instead of going after Two-Face as she did in the comics, she shared a rivalry with Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot. Fitting that she's going to play a prominent role in HBO's The Penguin, then. After that, Laila Berzins voiced the character in the animated adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween.
How I Met Your Mother alum Cristin Milioti takes on the role of the new head of the Falcone family. Milioti has an extensive resume primarily filled with comedic roles. However, there's no denying that she's up to the task as her acting talents span the entire emotional spectrum, allowing her to pull off a more ruthless character such as Sofia Falcone. She also has experience with mobster roles from her brief time on the critically acclaimed Sopranos. The only issue comic book purists might have is with Milioti's size. The comics portray Sofia as a tall and muscular woman, earning her the "Gigante" nickname. Tall Milioti is not, so her character will unlikely retain that nickname.
The teaser for The Penguin shows Milioti's character sharing, what appears to be, celebratory drinks with Farrel's Penguin. It's unknown if Falcone and Cobblepot will have the same rivalry they had in Gotham or if audiences will see a more comic-accurate portrayal, eventually introducing Harvey Dent and Two-Face. It's more likely, since Riddler was the cause of Carmine's death, that she aims her rage at him. Her war with Two-Face in Dark Victory leads to the death of Dick Grayson's parents, prompting Bruce to adopt him and train him as the first Robin. The Penguin could be the perfect vehicle to introduce various characters from Batman's rogues gallery.