Colin Farrell’s Penguin Will Get ‘The Batman’ Spinoff Series
You might say that Warner Bros. is making a whole bunch of stuff under The Batman umbrella.
(Sorry.)
We already knew that the new Batman movie, which is due in theaters next spring, would get a spinoff series on HBO Max about the police department in Gotham City. But now it looks like there’s going to be a second spinoff show that will emerge from the film, this one about its version of Oswald Cobblepot — AKA the Penguin — played in the movie by Colin Farrell. This series is also intended for HBO Max.
According to Variety, this is all part of “WarnerMedia’s attempt to launch a new interconnected Batman universe across all of its platforms.” They claim Farrell is officially “signed on to star in and executive produce” this Penguin-related series, with Lauren LeFranc writing the script. So... apparently the Penguin doesn’t get killed in the film? (I guess it could be a prequel show.)
We still haven’t seen very much from The Batman beyond a couple of trailers, which haven’t fully explained the Penguin’s role in director Matt Reeves’ version of Gotham City beyond him being a crime boss who’s opposed to Robert Pattinson’s younger version of the Dark Knight. But there’s a lot of Batman rogues in the film, including Catwoman and The Riddler. It’s not clear how they all connect yet.
I guess a series about a crime boss in the world of Batman could be interesting. Like The Sopranos, but instead of the FBI, Tony is mostly worried about whether Batman might swoop in during his family’s Christmas dinner to come arrest him? I can sort of see that as a show. The Batman is scheduled to open in theaters on March 4, 2022.