‘Pennyworth’: Paloma Faith Cast as the Villain in Epix’s ‘Batman’ Prequel

Pennyworth
What’s a comic book drama without a good villain? British pop star Paloma Faith has joined the cast of Pennyworth as a new villain who will test Alfred’s courage on his return to London.

 

According to Deadline, Faith will play Bet Sykes, a “spirited, sadistic and sharp-tongued villain.” Nothing else has been revealed about the character, who is new to the Batman mythology, but her name certainly looks to have been inspired by Bill Sykes, the murderous antagonist of Oliver Twist.

 

Though she is best known as a pop star, Faith has acted before, appearing in Peter & Wendy and Doctor Parnassus. She joins a cast that includes Jack Bannon as the young Alfred Pennyworth, Ben Aldridge as Thomas Wayne, and Ryan Fletcher and Hainsley Lloyd Bennett as Alfred’s army friends Dave Boy and Bazza.

 

Pennyworth is a ten episode drama series from executive producers Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon, set well before Thomas Wayne fathered his son Bruce, that reveal the past exploits of Alfred Pennyworth that show that there’s much more to his story than just being Batman’s butler. The series is due to start filming next week in the UK, and will be released through Epix sometime in 2019.