We now have some idea about what’s in store for Pennyworth, the new series that follows Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler Alfred, years before Bruce was ever born. Danny Cannon, who’s an executive producer on Gotham as well as Pennyworth, shared some insight at the TCAs yesterday (via Deadline) on what we can expect from the newest Batman prequel.
First up, the 60s-set series will be “13 degrees darker” than something like Austin Powers, which was set during a similar time but had a more vibrant color scheme to reflect its comical tone. “It’s not the England we know. It looks and feels like, but if you look a little closer, [you think], ‘Why is that like that? Why is that building there? What war is he talking about?‘”
Cannon also promised an “unhinged, R-rated” series filled with “archetypal villains and classic villains of British literature.” Specifically, he mentioned Jack the Ripper. “Jack the Ripper was 1880s, but he has descendants.”
The EP also said early test audiences responded positively to the new series. “There were only so many who knew it was a DC-related series. It was incredibly positive and that’s because the characters are being drawn out. There’s so much to draw from and so much to imagine.“
RELATED: Polly Walker Signs On For Recurring Role in Pennyworth
The series follows Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon), a former British SAS soldier in his 20s, who forms a security company and goes to work with a young billionaire Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge), who’s not yet Bruce’s father.
Alfred Pennyworth is described as a boyishly handsome, cheerful, charming, clever young man from London. You would never take him for an SAS killer, thanks to his honest, open-faced, and witty demeanor. Alfred doesn’t know how to reconcile the kind-hearted boy he used to be with the cold, calculated killer he was forced to become, and he doesn’t know what to make of himself yet.
Pennyworth comes from executive producer and writer Bruno Heller (Gotham, The Mentalist, Rome) and Danny Cannon (Gotham, CSI), who will also direct.
The 10-episode, one-hour drama series is based on DC characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Production on the Warner Horizon Scripted Television series began last October at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the UK.
