A promotional video from Max, highlighting the streamer’s 2024 releases, includes a few new seconds of footage from the anticipated The Batman spin-off series, The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell. The brief sneak peek in the Max video reveals all-new footage, offering a taste of what to expect from Farrell’s portrayal of the infamous Gotham City character.
The Penguin series has recently resumed production, following a pause due to the Hollywood strikes. As the first major spin-off from Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, The Penguin sets a precedent for future projects within this particular Gotham City storyline. While James Gunn and Peter Safran are busy shaping the new DC Universe, which is separate from Reeves’ vision, the continuation and expansion of The Batman universe with series like The Penguin indicate that his take on Gotham City still has more stories to tell.
The Max teaser didn’t just focus on The Penguin; it also confirmed that The Last of Us season 2 is set for a 2025 return. Additionally, the teaser offered a special first look at footage from Welcome To Derry, a prequel TV series to Stephen King’s IT, closely linked to Andy Muschietti’s movie adaptations. Scheduled to launch in 2025, Welcome To Derry promises to explore the eerie backstory of the town and its terrifying entity, adding new layers to the already chilling IT universe.
One of Batman’s most notorious foes, Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot is better known to comic book fans as The Penguin. He’s a master criminal with a distinctive look, thanks to his rotund physique, top hat, monocle and long nose. He’s been portrayed on-screen before by actors like Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito and Robin Lord Taylor, but Colin Farrell is the latest star to bring him to life.
The Penguin is set in the same universe as The Batman and sees Colin Farrell returning to the role of the villainous DC Comics character. Cristin Milioti plays the show’s female lead, Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Gotham city mob boss Carmine Falcone. Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Rhenzy Feliz, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau and David H. Holmes round out the cast in undisclosed roles.
Mare Of Easttown helmer Craig Zobel is directing the first two episodes of The Penguin, with Lauren LeFranc (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Chuck) overseeing the project as its writer and showrunner. Colin Farrell is an executive producer on the series alongside The Batman director Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark.
The Batman opened in theaters this past March, earning 770.8 million at the worldwide box office, a figure that makes it the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2022. Reeves is working on a sequel to the Warner Bros. project and currently writing its script alongside Mattson Tomlin.
Stay tuned for the latest news regarding HBO Max’s Penguin series and make sure to stay tuned to our YouTube channel for more content.