A spinoff of Matt Reeves’ The Batman has officially been picked up at HBO Max, who committed to a straight-to-limited-series order for The Penguin. Colin Farrell and his prosthetics will reprise their big-screen role as underworld kingpin Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin.
“The world that Matt Reeves created for The Batman is one that warrants a deeper gaze through the eyes of Oswald Cobblepot,” Farrell stated. “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.”
Reeves added that “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.” Reeves will serve as executive producer on the series, with Lauren LeFranc (producer and writer on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) on board as showrunner.
The Penguin was one of two The Batman spinoff ideas that were in active development for HBO Max. The second was going to be centred on the Gotham City Police Department and take place during ‘Year One’ of Bruce Wayne’s career as the vigilante; however, Reeves has recently said the project would not be moving forward. In its stead, a series set in Arkham Asylum is now being developed.