DisneyFanatic.com The Latest News, Advice, and Perspective from Disney Fans for Disney Fans!
The Batman and Dolly Parton: The New Dynamic Duo.
Credit: DC / Warner Bros.
DC Studios is currently rebuilding its shared universe under the watchful eye of James Gunn, who is putting together a new vision of comic book adaptations after Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe crumbled under the weight of its own slow-motion self-importance.
The official kickoff of the new DC Universe will be the upcoming Superman film starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult, but there are still a few Elseworlds projects in development that are fetched from the new DCU.
One of them is the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux, which will see Joaquin Phoenix return as Arthur Fleck, the Joker who isn’t the Joker, alongside Lady Gaga as a version of Harley Quinn who definitely isn’t Margot Robbie. Also in the works is The Batman Chapter II, the sequel to the colossally-long 2022 Matt Reeves movie, starring Robert Pattinson as a young Bruce Wayne.
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Between The Batman and Chapter II is The Penguin, a new HBO series starring Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, as he consolidates power in the criminal underworld of Gotham City in the wake of the death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).
The series will co-star Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, a rival for the rule of the city, Rhenzy Feliz as a teenager the Penguin befriends, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, a fallen boss, and Deirdre O’Connell as Francis Cobb, the title character’s mother.
Credit: Inside the Magic
According to the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Dolly Parton, the iconic singer/songwriter, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and theme park owner, will also have an outsized presence in The Penguin. Series creator Lauren LeFranc (best known as a writer/producer on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has revealed that the Colin Farrell version of the Batman villain is a huge Dolly Parton fan and that his passion for the singer will be a recurring element of the show.
While Lauren LeFranc would not confirm exactly how many Dolly Parton sounds would appear in The Penguin, it is probably safe to assume that it is more than any other prior incarnation of the Caped Crusader mythos.
Apparently, part of this country music obsession has to do with this version of the Penguin being from a more working-class background than prior depictions, with LeFranc saying, “This is what differentiates him from previous versions of the Penguin in the comics, where he used to come from a wealthy, well-known family.”
Credit: Shout Factory
Famously, Dolly Parton herself comes from a dirt-poor Tennessee family and has achieved massive wealth and adulation over her decades of work, so it makes sense that Colin Farrell’s character would be a fan. LeFranc continued, saying:
“Matt [Reeves] had already made him an underdog in that he was number two to Carmine Falcone in the film, but we didn’t know anything about his family. So it was important to me that he comes from nothing, and he’s really aching to get more status and be seen as more important.”
Related: Dollywood Jeopardy: Dolly Parton Cuts Ties With Company After Gross Illegal Activity Uncovered
It might be too much to hope that Dolly Parton herself could actually show up on The Penguin for a quick Gotham City concert or the dedication of the new Arkham Dollywood, but who knows? Parton is always interested in a new career direction.
Will you be watching The Penguin when it hits HBO on September 8?
