Photo Credit: HBO
The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc has disproved a fan theory regarding the television series and a popular Batman villain.

The Penguin premiered on HBO and Max in September 2024. Set within Matt Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga, the eight-episode series stars Colin Farrell as Oswald “Oz” Cobb/The Penguin, Cristin Milioti as Sofia Gigante, and Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar.

In the fourth episode of The Penguin, a number of fans were convinced they spotted clues indicating that the Julian Rush character, played by Theo Rossi, was supposed to be Scarecrow. More specifically, observant viewers noticed that there was a mask and gloves that appeared to resemble Scarecrow’s outfit within Julian Rush’s office.

Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane debuted in DC Comics in 1941’s World’s Finest Comics #3. The Batman villain is known for using a drug called “fear toxin” to terrorize the city of Gotham. He was portrayed by Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, while Charlie Tahan and David W. Thompson played him in Fox’s Gotham and Vincent Kartheiser appeared as him in Titans.

Is Julian Rush the Scarecrow in The Penguin?

Speaking with ScreenRant, LeFranc confirmed that the fan theories were incorrect and that Julian Rush is not truly the Scarecrow in the Batman Epic Crime Saga.

“Well, I can say he’s not the Scarecrow,” she said.

At this time, nobody has been officially cast as Scarecrow within the Batman Epic Crime Saga and it’s unknown if the character will debut in any upcoming projects set within Reeves’ universe. Similarly, there’s been no Scarecrow casting announcement for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU.

All eight episodes of The Penguin are now available to stream on Max. Reeves has said that there are conversations being had about a potential The Penguin Season 2, though no official announcement has been made at this time.