Matt Reeves Reveals Scrapped Plan for Bruce Wayne and Vic’s Meeting in ‘The Penguin’

Matt Reeves successfully expanded his Batman Epic crime saga with the release of The Penguin. Oz, first introduced in The Batman Part I, wasn’t expected by some fans to be able to carry a show on his own. But when the first episode aired, it was clear that HBO and Reeves had a hit.

Reeves had confirmed earlier that Batman wouldn’t be in the show—except for a small hint in the final episode. While some fans were disappointed, others agreed that adding Batman would overshadow Oz’s story.

After the final episode aired, Matt Reeves spoke with Entertainment Weekly about how they once considered having Vic meet Bruce Wayne but eventually decided not to.

Reeves explained that the team looked at several ways to include Bruce Wayne in The Penguin, but none of them felt natural. One idea was a scene where Bruce would meet Vic, played by Rhenzy Feliz, Oz’s right-hand man. But Reeves said this also felt out of place, noting, “Even that ended up throwing things off too much.”

Over the course of writing the season, we discussed many times whether or not there might be some cross-through that would feel earned. We tried a few different ideas conceptually, nothing that was ever written ultimately, but nothing seemed to quite gel in a way that felt earned.

Showrunner Lauren LeFranc offered a similar explanation, saying that bringing in Batman would draw too much attention and make Oz’s story feel secondary.

We wanted our characters to be the predominant people that you’re following in this show. Anything that started to detract from that wasn’t servicing the type of show we wanted to do.

Source: EW

LeFranc gave a similar explanation for why Magpie is the only villain shown in Arkham Asylum. Adding too many references and Easter eggs in that episode, she explained, would pull focus from Sofia’s story—and her backstory is crucial, as it explains all of her later choices.

What about you? Do you agree with Reeves and LeFranc? Share your thoughts in the comments!