The Penguin: Who is Dr. Julian Rush? Everything to know about the new DC character

The Penguin is a crime drama miniseries that's a spin-off of Matt Reeves' film, The Batman. The series is developed by Lauren LeFranc and executive produced by Dylan Clark, Craig Zobel, Bill Carraro and Daniel Pipski, among others.

It stars Colin Farrell as the titular character Penguin aka Oswald Cobb from the DC Comics. The series follows his journey from a mid-level mobster to Gotham City's crime kingpin and one of Batman's greatest adversaries.

The show's synopsis, according to Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"The next chapter in The Batman saga, this crime drama follows Oz Cobb’s quest for power and control in Gotham City."

Dr. Julian Rush is a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. He treats Sofia Falcone and seems to have a personal history with her.

---

Dr. Julian Rush's brief appearance in The Penguin explained

Cristin Milioti seen as Sofia Falcone in the series (Image via X/@The Penguin)

The Penguin episode 2, titled Inside Man, introduced a new character, Dr. Julian Rush, in the opening minutes of the episode. He works as a psychiatrist at the Arkham Asylum and treats Sofia with red light hypnosis therapy, which induces nightmarish-like hallucinations in her.

When she comes out of the hypnotic state and begins freaking out, Dr. Julian holds her tightly and calms her down, in a move that seems very unprofessional. Their closeness in this scene hints at a shared past that could reveal itself as the show progresses.

Dr. Julian Rush is a new character and doesn't appear in the DC Comics. Nevertheless, his brief appearance in the series has got fans excited and speculating about his true identity.

---

Fans have various theories about Dr. Julian Rush's true identity

An image taken from the HBO series (Image via X/@The Penguin)

One fan theory posits that Sofia and Dr. Julian share a dynamic similar to Joker and his lover/sidekick, Harley Quinn. However, it's too soon to predict anything with certainty from their momentary interaction.

A second fan theory suggests that he's the supervillain, Scarecrow, aka Dr. Jonathan Crane. According to DC Comics, the doctor works at Arkham Asylum and conducts fear-inducing experiments on his patients by using his fear toxin.

Admittedly, there are quite a few similarities between the two. To start off, they are both psychiatrists working at Arkham Asylum. Secondly, Dr. Julian Rush is also seen inducing a nightmare in Sofia in his very first scene in the series.

Although their names are different, a slight name change is not unprecedented in the Batman franchise. It must be noted that the series changed the main character's name from Oswald Cobblepot to Oswald Cobb. Similarly, The Riddler's name was slightly altered from Edward Nygma to Edward Nashton in The Batman movie, released in 2022.

Another fan theory says that Dr. Julian Rush could be another Batman villain, Hugo Strange, who's known for being a mad scientist who loves using illegal, unorthodox and dangerous methods to get his patients to reveal their dark secrets.

It's also possible that Dr. Julian Rush is just a regular psychologist or hypnotherapist who resorts to unorthodox ways while treating his patients.

---

Who plays Dr. Julian Rush in The Penguin?

Theo Rossi seen with his wife Meghan at the premiere of The Penguin (Image via Instagram/@theorossi)

The American actor and producer Theo Rossi plays Dr. Julian Rush in the superhero series. His most notable television roles include Juan Carlos 'Juice' Ortiz on Sons of Anarchy, Hernan 'Shades' Alvarez on Luke Cage and Stan Giamatti on Grey's Anatomy.

He has also starred as Youcef in the film Emily the Criminal, Todd in Bad Hurt, Francisco 'Ghost' Alvarez in Lowriders, Burt Cummings in Army of the Dead, Deuce in Vault, Pfc. Tino Hull in Red Sands, etc.

---

Viewers can watch all episodes of The Penguin on HBO and Max.