The Penguin cast a different actor in the role of mob boss Carmine Falcone, and now we know why. John Turturro originally played one of Gotham’s biggest antagonists in 2022’s The Batman, but he was replaced in HBO spinoff series The Penguin by Mark Strong.

Additionally, the episode “Cent'Anni” included flashbacks featuring Carmine Falcone, only rather than being reprised by John Turturro, Mark Strong played the younger version of the character. Although Turturro’s absence from this DC TV show airing running on the 2024 TV schedule was initially attributed to scheduling conflicts,

HBO’s The Penguin has a ton of connections to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, but one is proving more interesting than others. In Reeves’ film, John Turturro played crime boss Carmine Falcone, a character who returns in flashbacks for The Penguin.