‘The Penguin’: 5 Things You Need to About ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off (2024)

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  • Does 'The Penguin' Have a Release Date?

  • Is There a Trailer for 'The Penguin'?

  • What Do We Know About the Plot of 'The Penguin'?

  • Who's In the Cast of 'The Penguin'?

  • Who's Making 'The Penguin'?

The Batman came out on March 4, 2022, and was a tremendous success for DC, with the new iteration of The Dark Knight becoming instantly iconic on screen. Following the success of the film, Matt Reeves has been slowly crafting his own corner of the DC universe, with interconnected projects based on characters from Batman's extensive rogues gallery. Matt Reeves' BatVerse will be a separate universe from the main DC Universe being built on the guidance of James Gunn and Peter Safran and will be branded as DC Elseworlds. One character from The Batman that was an instant fan favorite was Colin Farrell's large and foul-mouthed Penguin, owing to the unrecognizable performance, dark humor, and meticulous makeup of the character. So now Oswald is getting his own series on Max (formerly known as HBO Max) to expand upon the character and the universe. The Penguin will be the first spin-off show from The Batman, a crime drama giving us a detailed look at the mechanics of organized crime in this take on Gotham.

Apart from, The Penguin, Matt Reeves is also developing a GCPD and Arkham Asylum show, along with exploring the option of developing feature-length projects based on characters from Batman's iconic rogues' gallery like Clayface and Professor Pyg, in a similar vein to Todd Philips' Joker. Batman is one of the rare comic-book characters whose supporting players and villains are so interesting that they can stand on their own. With The Penguin, Matt Reeves and team will be trying to take a deep dive into the character of Penguin and the criminal underbelly of Gotham, in a way that the time confines of a movie don't allow. Here's everything we know so far about the next chapter in Reeve's Bat-Verse, as it will be told in Colin Farrell's The Penguin.

‘The Penguin’: 5 Things You Need to About ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off (1)
The Penguin

Crime

Drama

Fantasy

It follows the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.

Release Date
2024-00-00
Cast
Colin Farrell , Clancy Brown , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Cristin Milioti

Main Genre
Crime

Seasons
1

5 Does 'The Penguin' Have a Release Date?

‘The Penguin’: 5 Things You Need to About ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off (2)

There is no official release date for The Penguin yet, but it is currently scheduled to release this September. Colin Farrell confirmed in January 2023 that the production was ready to start rolling in February. The series was in production in New York City for a while before the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes put a pause on filming. After getting back on track, the series managed to still make its 2024 release window.

4 Is There a Trailer for 'The Penguin'?

While not a full trailer, Max has given us a featurette that gives us a glimpse of what's to come. Taking place after the flood of Gotham City, The Penguin is looking to take over the criminal underworld. With Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) gone, the hierarchy of power is changing, and no one will stand in Penguin's way (except maybe Batman).

Max released the official teaser trailer for The Penguin on March 22, 2024, giving us a better look at the series and what it will entail for the titular villain.

Additional footage from The Penguin was prominently featured in HBO's 2024 preview video, "The One to Watch in 2024."

The Penguin teaser trailer picks up shortly after the events of 2022's The Batman. Cobblepot is looking to take advantage of the chaos and rebuild Gotham's underworld in his image. The city's flooded, but that doesn't mean everything's over. There's so much work that needs to be done if he's going to replace Carmine Falcone.

3 What Do We Know About the Plot of 'The Penguin'?

‘The Penguin’: 5 Things You Need to About ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off (3)

Matt Reeves confirmed in an interview with Collider that The Penguin will pick up from where things were left off in The Batman, and lead directly into The Batman: Part Two. At the end of The Batman, Riddler's grand plan leaves Gotham flooded, with many areas still submerged underwater, setting the city on a back foot as it seeks restoration and retribution. Gotham's biggest crime boss Carmine Falcone, was busted by the GCPD and then killed by the Riddler, leaving the top spot in Gotham's hierarchy of crime vacant. We last see Oswald Cobblepot looking at the sunrise the morning after the flood, the vision of the rise of a new empire in front of his eyes. The Penguin has been described as a Scarface-like tale, where Colin Farrell's Penguin makes a power play to grab the reigns of the crime world in this new Gotham.

There is no official synopsis for the show yet, but Sarah Aubrey, Max head of originals, had this to say about the plot of the show in an interview with Variety:

"The goal of this is to show what Oz’s life is like and that’s very much in the streets of Gotham, trying to get up and over as only the Penguin can. As a hustler and a strategist with his own ambitions. It is a great example of having the time over eight episodes to tell a longer-arc character story with a lot of delicious twists and turns and new characters. It’s very much going to be about Gotham at that street level because he’s not flying around like Batman does. We are all embracing that as a very specific experience for audiences to have."

When describing the series, Colin Ferrell said:

"It's dark, that's what I can tell you about it. It's really dark. It's really heavy, I think - it certainly was doing it. Which is not to say I didn't have fun, I had an amazing time doing it. It's incredibly violent.

It’s one man’s rise to what he’s always dreamed of inhabiting which is a certain power or social status. The death of Carmine Falcone at the end of [The Batman] the film, leaves this vacuum in Gotham to be filled and so there are various people that are grabbing for that power and this is Oswald’s journey trying to rise to the top through extraordinary obstacles."

2 Who's In the Cast of 'The Penguin'?

Headlining the project and portraying the titular character is Colin Farrell, coming on the heels of an amazing year. Apart from his stand-out transformative performance in The Batman, which made his iteration of the character an instant fan favorite and earned him rave reviews, Colin Farrell also starred in three other amazing movies in 2022, which include Kogonada's After Yang, Ron Howard's Thirteen lives and Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin. Farrell has also won the Golden Globes for his performance in The Banshees of Inisherin and is nominated for both the BAFTAS and Oscars this year.

Cristin Milioti, who's perhaps best known for her role in How I Met Your Mother, has also joined the cast as a regular alongside Colin Farrell. The Palm Springs star will be playing Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Carmine Falcone, who will be in direct conflict with the Penguin in the fight over the control of Gotham. The character of Sofia Falcone played a major role in Batman: The Long Halloween, a comic Matt Reeves has drawn heavily from for his first Batman movie, and while it's a different actress and likely a different take, we can expect a similar characterization for this wild card. Michael Kelly (House of Cards), Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse), and Deirdre O’Connell (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) were announced to be part of the cast in February 2023 and, in the latest casting news, Clancy Brown, who has also appeared in Marvel's Daredevil and The Punisher series, was announced to be part of the cast.

1 Who's Making 'The Penguin'?

‘The Penguin’: 5 Things You Need to About ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off (4)

Matt Reeves will be executive producing the series for Max, along with his production partner Dylan Clark, who also produced The Batman. Farrell also assured fans that:

“Matt Reeves is all over it. And sure Matt is borderline OCD when it comes to his focus and trying to do something new and original and with feeling and aesthetic and all that good stuff.”

Lauren LeFranc will serve as the showrunner for the show, and Colin Farrell confirmed in an interview recently that the Agents of S.H.I.EL.D. and Chuck writer will be writing all the episodes of the series. Craig Zobel, the director behind the Emmy-winning Mare Of Easttown series with Kate Winslet, will be directing the first two episodes of The Penguin. Michael Marino, who has been nominated for an Academy Award for his extraordinary work with hair and make-up in The Batman, will return to do the make-up for Colin Farrell in this series.

‘The Penguin’: 5 Things You Need to About ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off (2024)

FAQs

What is special about the Penguin Batman? ›

Unlike most of Batman's rogues gallery, the Penguin is completely sane and in full control of his actions, giving him a unique relationship with Batman. According to his creator Bob Kane, the character was inspired by the advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes in the 1940s; a penguin with a top hat and cane.

Is the Penguin in the new Batman? ›

Yes, The Penguin is a standalone tale that won't focus on the Dark Knight, but events depicted in it will surely play some role in The Batman Part 2, even if plot details from The Penguin are merely referenced in passing.

How did the Penguin turn evil? ›

Origin. Born Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, the Penguin was teased very much in his childhood due to his short stature, obesity, and bird-like nose. These traits made him an outcast in his rich, debutante family. Their rejection drove him to become evil.

What kills Penguin in Batman Returns? ›

Then, the Batskiboat released a flock of bats which surrounded Penguin. While he tried to avoid them, Penguin fell backwards through the large window of his lair and into the poisoned water below. Batman was unable to save him, much like the Ice Princess.

Is Penguin a bad guy in Batman? ›

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin, is a major antagonist in the DC Universe, specifically serving as a major antagonist in the Batman franchise. He is one of Batman's oldest and most infamous foes.

What is special about the Penguin? ›

According to some animal experts, the penguin is one of the most streamlined animals in the world. A penguin's body is tapered at both ends and it has a large head, short neck and elongated body. This streamlined design helps penguins swim fast.

Why does Penguin limp Batman? ›

Season 1. Cobblepot starts out as a small-time criminal working for mobster Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). After Mooney discovers that Cobblepot is an informant for the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD), she hobbles him by breaking his ankle, giving him a waddle-like limp that befits his hated nickname, "Penguin" ...

What is the Joker's real name? ›

It is then revealed that the Joker's real name is "Jack Oswald White." Martha then shares that she visited the Flashpoint universe's version of Jack Oswald White, discovering him to be a struggling family man supporting his wife and a child as a janitor at Wayne Casino.

What is two face real name? ›

Two-Face (Harvey Dent) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #66 (August 1942).

Did Penguin lose his eye? ›

When one such client who couldn't pay, a barroom brawl broke out, which resulted in a broken beer bottle that was lodged into Penguin's left eye, a favor which Cobblepot repaid by taking both of the client's eyes, as well as left him wandering blindly through the Gotham freeway at rush hour.

Why did Penguin go to jail? ›

SAN FRANCISCO/GOTHAM – Edward “E.” Nigma, aka, “The Riddler,” and Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, aka, “The Penguin” were formally arrested today and charged with multiple counts of conspiracy and kidnapping for their all too familiar villainous ways in Gotham City, according to Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the ...

Is Penguin blind in one eye? ›

Eyesight. A penguin's eyes are adapted to see clearly both in air and under water. Penguins have binocular vision.

Does Penguin hate Joker? ›

Shortly afterwards, the Joker arrived at the Iceberg Lounge, hoping Penguin would let bygones be bygones; however, Penguin still hated the Joker would damaging his club's reputation, slamming the door on him right before the Joker could attempt to spray acid at him.

Who killed Penguin? ›

Batman #125 reintroduces artist Jorge Jiménez and colorist Tomeu Morey to the ongoing title and marks writer Chip Zdarsky's takeover of the series. It also begins the 'Failsafe' arc, which immediately puts Bruce Wayne in a precarious position. He murdered the Penguin.

Who is the bad guy in Batman Begins? ›

Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow: A corrupt psychopharmacologist working as Chief Administrator of Arkham Asylum. A specialist in the psychology of fear, he has secretly created a fear-inducing toxin and plots with Ra's al Ghul to expose the entire Gotham population.

Why is the King penguin special? ›

King penguins are the second largest species of penguin. King penguin species are unique in that their colonies have occupants all year long due to the long length of their breeding and maturity cycle. Highly recognizable, the king penguin is featured on the logo of the Edinburgh Zoo.

Why is the Penguin so popular? ›

Penguins are popular around the world for their unusually upright, waddling gait, their cuteness, their swimming ability and (compared with other birds) their lack of fear toward humans.

Does the Penguin have any powers? ›

One of the biggest and most legendery crime lords in Gotham, The Penguin is still somewhat of an enigma. He is not imposing and strong like Bane, not psychotic like the Joker, does not have mutant or supernatural powers like Man-Bat or Clayface - Yet he remains one of the most famous Batman villains.

Why does a Penguin have a bottle in his eye? ›

When one such client who couldn't pay, a barroom brawl broke out, which resulted in a broken beer bottle that was lodged into Penguin's left eye, a favor which Cobblepot repaid by taking both of the client's eyes, as well as left him wandering blindly through the Gotham freeway at rush hour.

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