A very popular fan theory during the run of The Penguin on HBO was that Sofia Falcone’s psychiatrist at Arkham, Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi), was actually going to turn out to be Batman villain the Scarecrow. After all, in the comics, Dr. Jonathan Crane worked at Arkham before using his fear toxin to become a supervillain, and one of the Dark Knight’s most iconic foes. Maybe Julian Rush was really an alias of Jonathan Crane’s? Well, The Penguin showrunner, Lauren LeFranc, just threw some cold ice on that theory. This was during an interview on the Golden Globes red carpet (via Screen Rant). Here’s what she had to say, and she didn’t mince words:
Well, I can say he’s not the Scarecrow.
So much for that theory. Fans were hoping that Dr. Rush would be the Matt Reeves’ Batman universe’s iteration of the iconic DC Comics villain. But if he eventually appears, it will be someone else. The Scarecrow first appeared in World’s Finest Comics #3, way back in 1941, a mere two years after Batman’s debut. He disappeared from the pages of Batman and Detective Comics for decades, before returning in 1967. Since then, he’s been a mainstay of Batman’s iconic rogues gallery. He appeared regularly in animated form in shows like Super Friends and Batman: The Animated Series. In fact, a 1985 episode of Super Friends featuring Scarecrow was the first presentation of Batman’s now overdone origin story outside of comics.
The original Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman movies never got around to using the Scarecrow. However, a third Schumacher Batman movie would have featured him as a lead villain. He finally got his cinematic debut in 2005’s Batman Begins, played by Cillian Murphy. He later reprised the role in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Still, he’s never been the primary villain of a live-action Batman project. So maybe Julian Rush on The Penguin wasn’t allowed to be Scarecrow, because Matt Reeves has plans for him. After giving us incredible versions of both Penguin and Riddler, we’d love to see a Matt Reeves take on Gotham City’s master of fear.