The theory of the biggest Batman fan in the penguins has been debunked

How good was The Penguin when all was said and done? Well, let’s put it this way: the worst thing about it had absolutely nothing to do with the show itself. Despite entering the Batman spinoff with more than my share of skepticism, rave reviews Oz Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) tortuous path to becoming the protagonist of Gotham City following the events of director Matt Reeves’ blockbuster proved doubters dead wrong. Thanks in no small part to the truly inspired casting of Kristin Miliotti as Sofia Falcone’s sociopathic partner-in-crime, these two leads took the series to greater heights. But despite the obvious quality of the writing on display throughout each series, one annoying detail ended up being a distraction for a very specific audience – what the hell happened to Dr. Julian Rush?

The new character, played by actor Theo Rossi (Luke Cage, Emily Blunt, and most recently Carrie-On), was introduced at the beginning of The Penguin as something of a wild card, serving as Sofia’s personal psychiatrist with a slightly unhealthy attachment to of a newly committed villainy. Several flashbacks revealed that he worked at Arkham Asylum in the past and was partially responsible for the horrific “treatment” of Sophia during her incarceration. After she was released, he added several important layers to the mentally unstable antagonist, including a touch of erotica from his, ah, submissive role play in later episodes.

However, despite the fact that so much was added to the series, some fans just couldn’t wrap their heads around the original creation (which, by the way, helped reinforce all these parallels with The Sopranos.). No, speculation has pegged him as the classic Batman villain Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. Leaving aside my personal distaste for such thinking — sometimes a character is allowed to exist without needing any connection to pre-established DC lore — no less an authority than showrunner Lauren LeFranc has officially debunked this surprisingly common fan theory.

Folks, it’s time for an intervention. I get it — this particular fan theory didn’t come out of nowhere. To be fair, one particular episode of The Penguin certainly seemed to hint at the idea that there was more behind the persona of Dr. Julian Rush, with what appeared to be a mask and glove, appearing on the not-so-good doctor’s desk. That would be pretty damning evidence… if it was any other series than The Penguin and set in any other universe than Batman’s, where everything is presented more or less exactly as it appears. Would the Marvel Cinematic Universe or even Zack Snyder’s DC Universe pull such a trick? Probably! But I’d like to believe that Matt Reeves and his handpicked creative team are above such plot twists.

Either way, we can now credit Penguin creator, showrunner and writer Lauren LeFranc as the final word on the matter. In an interview with ScreenRant Walking the red carpet at the 2025 Golden Globes last night, Lefranc addressed the fan theory with refreshing bluntness:

– Well, I can say that he is not the Scarecrow.

Talk about a definitive answer! I can understand why many were hoping his presence would lead to something much bigger, especially considering that a new psychedelic drug like Bliss is already in the series and that his occupation (not to mention his dubious motives) definitely aligns with the Scarecrow . But much of this theorizing stemmed from the mistaken idea that the characters should exists solely to advance the plot, not to reveal new angles and new shades of our leads that we would never see otherwise. Folks, not everyone needs to secretly be a major figure in a franchise!

Now that we’ve put that to rest, spare thoughts and prayers to anyone who was convinced of this poor, doomed Victor Aguilar (Renzi Feliz) was actually Mr. Freeze all along.