In 2022, the same year that Apple TV+ subscription-holders got to start watching him play Irving Bailiff in Severance, John Turturro made his comic book movie debut playing Carmine Falcone in The Batman. Just like in the comics, Turturro’s Falcone was a powerful crime boss in Gotham City with a personal tie to Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne. There was also an aspect of his physical appearance that wasn’t present in the comics, but Turturro requested before he would agree to play Falcone, and I actually think it helped make the character even cooler.
Turturro revealed during his conversation with Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused that it was his idea to wear sunglasses while playing Carmine Falcone, as he wanted to wear a “mask” of sorts just like Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz and Paul Dano. The actor explained his rationale as follows:
I told [Matt Reeves], I said ‘I’ll do it if I can wear these glasses. Because I said, ‘Everyone else has a mask, and I want a mask too.’ I don’t have really cold eyes. I know that. So when you have that shield, that helps you. Sometimes one thing, it can be something physically or a costume piece, and it can free you in a way.
Carmine Falcone doesn’t traditionally wear sunglasses in the comics. Instead, the primary distinguishing feature on the character’s face is usually the claw marks below his right eye from when Catwoman scratched him in Batman: Year One. But from John Turturro’s perspective, wearing those sunglasses gave him his own kind of “mask” in order to make himself look more intimidating as Falcone. At least he’s self aware enough to know his eyes unobscured weren’t enough to do the job.
No explanation is ever provided for why Carmine Falcone wore those sunglasses during his waking hours, even if it was nighttime, but they accomplished their goal of making him look cooler. Mark Strong even wore them when he played a younger version of the man in The Penguin. However, since Falcone was murdered by The Riddler in The Batman, we can assume those sunglasses are now buried six feet under with their owner.
So let’s instead look to the future, as The Batman: Part II is slated for an October 1, 2027 release, and Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright are all on deck to reprise their roles. Just like with the first movie, director Matt Reeves worked on the sequel’s script with Mattson Tomlin, and production is expected to begin in London on January 1, 2026. Severance fans can look forward to seeing more of John Turturro as Irving Bailiff whenever Season 3 is released.
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