Fans finally caught a glimpse of Carmine Falcone! A new social media post reveals a first look at Mark Strong as the Kingpin of Crime in The Penguin.
With how much hype has been built around The Penguin, the internet has seemingly forgot that Mark Strong will be making his debut in the series. Taking over from The Batman‘s John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Strong has been surprisingly elusive in the show’s marketing up until this point. Luckily, the official social media accounts for the project have unveiled a first look at the actor from a scene in the upcoming series.
Nobody would be blamed for confusing Mark Strong as John Turturro. While the two have a different face shape, both perfectly capture the aura of Carmine Falcone that was so important in making him a key threat in The Batman. While it’s not clear what role he’ll be playing in The Penguin given he’s deceased, it’s likely he’ll have a strong influence on the past of his daughter, Sofia Falcone, who’s played in the series by Cristin Milioti.
Why The Penguin Recast Carmine Falcone
Given the character is likely to have such a small role in The Penguin due to the events of The Batman, many fans were wondering why the creative team decided to replace John Turturro with Mark Strong at all, especially when Strong is often seen as the more billable of the two actors. According to showrunner Lauren LeFranc, the answer simply comes down to scheduling.
“John Turturro is just, he’s a busy actor, you know?” LeFranc told CinemaBlend. “So his schedule made it really tricky for us. But honestly, I think what Mark Strong did was so exceptional. It would’ve been great to have John, but I’m really excited for people to see what Mark does with the role because he’s really – he’s very intimidating, and very emotional.”
Given John Turturro starred in multiple projects in 2024, as well as had to prepare for the critically acclaimed series Severance, it makes sense that the team would recast him for The Penguin. It’s certainly a shame that he wasn’t able to reprise his role from The Batman, but all signs point to Mark Strong carrying the torch of Carmine Falcone high in the upcoming series.
The Penguin is set to drop on HBO on September 19th, 2024. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and make sure to stay tuned to our YouTube channel for more content.
