Twenty-three years after he first originated the role of the Penguin's father in Gotham."

Actor Robin Lord Taylor, who plays Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin, on the show, revealed the news himself during a "Gotham" panel at New York Comic Con this weekend. Here's the scoop, per Entertainment Weekly:

"So we're all familiar with Oswald's mother, the fabulous, fabulous Carol Kane," the actor said leading up to the news. "We don't know a lot about his father... We just found out that I do have a father. And he will be showing up very soon, and he will be played by none other than Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman! He's playing my dad! What! The! Hell!"

The actor was so excited actress Erin Richards (who plays Barbara on the show) grabbed his name card and fanned him with it while the audience cheered his enthusiasm.

This is excellent casting news, not only because Reubens and Taylor look a lot alike, but because "Gotham" is clearly striving to pay homage to previous iterations of the "Batman" story; casting an actor in the same role he played more than two decades ago is not only smart, but great tribute to the series's onscreen history.

Writer John Stephens said during the panel that season two of "Gotham" would have less of an "old-time mobsters" feel, like season one, and instead would "trace the trajectory of the rise of the supervillains." Sounds pretty awesome to us.

"Gotham"'s sophomore season is currently airing on Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.

[via: Entertainment Weekly]

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