It’s official; HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order to The Penguin, a spinoff series of The Batman that will see Colin Farrell reprising his role of Oswald Cobblepot. Not exactly a huge surprise given that the series was teased last year, but I’m glad that we haven’t seen the last of Farrell as the Penguin.
The Penguin series will pick up Oswald’s story where The Batman left off and Colin Farrell seems quite excited to step back into the villains shoes once more. “The world that Matt Reeves created for The Batman is one that warrants a deeper gaze through the eyes of Oswald Cobblepot,” Farrell said, “I couldn’t be more excited about continuing this exploration of Oz as he rises through the darkened ranks to become The Penguin. Will be good to get him back on the streets of Gotham for a little madness and a little mayhem.” The series is being executive produced by Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, and Lauren LeFranc, who will also write and serve as the showrunner of the limited-series.
“I have long been a fan of the world of The Batman, and Matt’s film is such a powerful and bold entry into the canon,” LeFranc said. “I am excited and humbled to continue telling stories in the grimy world of Gotham City – and what better excuse to channel my inner villain than to tell the story of Oswald Cobblepot? I am thrilled to work with Colin, Matt, Dylan, 6th & Idaho, Warners, and HBO Max as we work to bring this story to the screen” Matt Reeves added, “Colin exploded off the screen as the Penguin in The Batman, and having the chance to thoroughly explore the inner life of that character on HBO Max is an absolute thrill. Dylan and I are so excited to work with Lauren in continuing Oz’s story as he grabs violently for power in Gotham.” Here’s Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content at HBO Max, with one more statement.
We are thrilled to bring audiences a new version of this iconic DC character that they have never seen before. It is incredible to be working with Matt, Dylan and Lauren on continuing this story and to see Colin take his already exceptional performance in The Batman to the next level.
Matt Reeves has previously said that he’s envisioned The Penguin series as a kind of “American dream in Gotham” type of story, almost like Scarface. Another Batman spinoff series was going to revolve around the Gotham City Police Department, but that has since evolved into something centering on Arkham instead. The Batman is now playing in theaters, so be sure to check out reviews from our own Chris Bumbray and JimmyO and let us know what you thought of the film as well.
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