The following article contains spoilers for The Batman.
John Turturro is the latest actor to take over for the role of crime lord Carmine Falcone in The Batman, and the character plays a crucial role in the story. Now, the actor has shared his thoughts on one of the film's plot twists involving the Waynes.
Created by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli in 1987, Falcone, while a friend of the Wayne family, is a powerful mob boss and his involvement in the criminal underworld would make him one of Batman's main enemies. The character was portrayed in other live-action projects by Tom Wilkinson in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and then by John Doman in the Gotham series.
In The Batman storyline, truth behind the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne is shrouded in mystery, as there is no clear evidence as to who committed them. However, Turturro deep down believes that while it's not certain, Falcone was ultimately responsible. “I think there are people who tell you ‘I didn’t do something’ even if they did do it. And then after time, they believe the alternative version that they created,” Turturro shared with The Hollywood Reporter. "I thought he is a dangerous guy, and I think not seeing [the Waynes’ murder] was kind of great.” In order to prepare for the character, reports indicate that Turturro used the advice he received from his father when he was just a young boy growing up in New York City about never looking mafia associates in the eye, as it is a way for them to lure new members. In addition, Turturro also wore vintage sunglasses to give the character a mask of his own.
For context, Falcone tells Bruce earlier in The Batman that Thomas Wayne helped him after he was shot in the chest, hinting at this perfect role model figure that Thomas was. But Bruce later discovers (via the Riddler) that his father was never totally morally upstanding, as he hired Falcone when he was running for mayor to intimidate a journalist for threatening to reveal embarrassing details about Martha Wayne's history of mental illness, which ultimately lead to that journalist's demise. While what Thomas did was wrong, Alfred then suggests to Bruce that Falcone had his parents murdered after Thomas threatened to tell the Police about the murder.
Along with his supposed involvement with the Waynes' deaths, another twist involving Falcone in the film is that he turns out to be the father of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, even if he did not realize. With a planned trilogy, it will be interesting to see how Catwoman continues handling the revelation. Until then, Falcone and the rest of the iconic characters can be seen in The Batman. The film has received rave reviews and has garnered roughly $269M at the worldwide box office. On top of the planned sequels, two spin-off series are in early development.
The Batman is now playing in theaters and will be available to stream on HBO Max on April 19, 2022.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter