The superhero genre continues to be juggernaut in the entertainment world, with various cinematic universes competing at the box office. And while the new DCU will begin with James Gunn's Superman, Matt Reeves' The Batman franchise (which is streaming with a Max subscription) continues to be set in its own world. That version of Gotham City expanded thanks to the series The Penguin, but Cristin Milioti feared her Sofia Falcone performance would be "embarrassing" enough to get her fired. And I’m shocked there was ever any doubt.
While I didn't love The Batman, watching The Penguin renewed my interest in Reeves' franchise. This was in large part to Milioti's outstanding performance as Sofia, which earned the actress a Golden Globe nomination. But during a conversation with IndieWire, the HIMYM alum spoke about her nerves related to the DC role. In her words:
Everything. All of it. I was nervous about doing the character justice. I was nervous about what it would be like to work in a giant franchise, because I’ve never experienced that before. I was nervous about being bad. I was nervous that the swings I was taking would be embarrassing, sort of your run-of-the-mill shame tornado, kind of everything and anything.
Of course, we all know how this ultimately shook out. Milioti quickly became a fan favorite character, one fans are hoping pop up in upcoming DC movies like The Batman Part II. This is especially true after her devastating ending during The Penguin's season finale. Justice for Sofia!
Cristin Milioti has had a long and wildly successful career in TV, film and Broadway. As such, you'd think that she'd come into a job like The Penguin with confidence in her abilities. But it sounds like she always assumes she could be fired, as she shared in the same interview:
I definitely calm down once I know there’s a certain amount of footage that they have. And I know that, like, at this point, it would be hard for them to fire me because they shot so much of it. I usually am like, 'I think they would tell me by now if I were fired,' but so always in the beginning, it’s nerve wracking. So by the time we got to 4, I was like, 'I think they would have let me go by now.'
The fourth episode of The Penguin as one of its best, and shifted the focus from Oz to Sofia. We learned the tragic way her family betrayed her, and watched as she enacted revenge on the entire Falcone Crime Family. It was a game changer for the series as a whole, and was seemingly the moment where Milioti knew she wasn't going to be fired from the DC TV series.
It's currently unclear if/when Sofia will return to the screen, but the ending of The Penguin definitely opened the door for more adventures. Matt Reeves' universe will return when The Batman Part II hits theaters in 2027. While we wait, check the 2025 movie release dates to plan your trips to the movies.
