‘The Penguin’ Showrunner On Theories Theo Rossi’s Julian Rush Is Secretly Scarecrow

Was Julian Rush hiding a big secret? The Penguin showrunner reveals if Theo Rossi was secretly playing Scarecrow all along.

One of the biggest complaints fans had with The Penguin was that the series had little in the way of Batman villains. While Oz Cobb obviously headlined the series, the only other prominent figures from Gotham’s underbelly were Sofia Gigante and Magpie. This was even more strange given the show went to Arkham, where one of Sofia’s doctors was played by Theo Rossi. Yet instead of him playing an established character like Jeremiah Arkham, he played an original creation in Julian Rush.

But could Julian Rush have been more than thought at first blush? Following The Penguin airing his debut, eagle-eyed rewatchers noticed a number of odd implements on the desk of Theo Rossi’s character. While they were unclear in the final product, many believed that they looked similar to Scarecrow’s glove. This birthed a widely believed theory that Theo Rossi was secretly playing Jonathan Crane, with the true reveal coming in a future project.

WOW 🎃 Someone sent me this reddit post, and it shows an Arkham-esque inspired Scarecrow glove, and what appears to be a Scarecrow mask in Julian Rush’s office.

I was told by a source a long while back that originally on the production details that Theo Rossi was written as… pic.twitter.com/yYrVBa83Zf

— BobaTalks (@BobaTalks) November 15, 2024

Is Theo Rossi Playing Scarecrow In The Penguin?

With The Penguin now having a Golden Globe win under its belt, Lauren LeFranc decided to weigh in on the show’s most popular theory. In a recent conversation with Screenrant, the showrunner was asked if there was any merit to Julian Rush being yet another secret identity for Jonathan Crane. While she didn’t say much, she did pretty definitively shut down theories that Theo Rossi was meant to be playing Scarecrow in the show.

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

While it may be a shame to some to learn that Scarecrow wasn’t hiding directly under their noses during The Penguin, it may be for the best. Not only does it leave the character open for adaptation in a future installment, but it also allows Theo Rossi’s take on Julian Rush to stand on its own. Fans have so many preconceptions about Jonathan Crane that retroactively revealing Rossi to have been playing him may simply serve to water down a stellar performance in a show full of class acts.

The Penguin is now streaming on HBO. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and make sure to stay tuned to our YouTube channel for more content.