Robert Pattinson's The Batman is mere months away, with DC fans are sitting in eager anticipation for its debut. Both trailers for the Matt Reeves-directed film shocked audiences, with the franchise moving away from the Snyderverse and ushering in a new era for the character on-screen, one that screams more Fincher-esque thriller than cape-sporting comic book movie.
The Batman will introduce a multitude of villains in Paul Dano's Riddler, Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman, and, of course, Colin Farrell as the Penguin. In the brief footage shown featuring Farrell, the actor is unrecognizable as the slippery Batman foe, wearing heavy prosthetics to emulate the iconic look of Oswald Cobblepot.
Now, Reeves' Gotham City epic hasn't even debuted, yet Warner has wasted no time in announcing spinoffs based in this new Batman world. The first unveiled by WB was Gotham PD, centering on Commissioner Jim Gordon and Gotham's finest. And fans have just gotten a taste of another HBO Max series taking place in the Reeves-verse.
Colin Farrell's Penguin is Back for More
Variety reported The Batman star Colin Farrell will reprise his Penguin role in an HBO Max streaming series centered on the villainous character.
Farrell will be back as the antagonist from The Batman while also serving as executive producer on the project that will dive into how the Penguin came to power in Gotham City.
Agents of SHIELD and Chuck writer Lauren LeFranc is set to write the series, with The Batman Matt Reeves taking on a producer role.
The Full Penguin Treatment for Farrell
It's still more than three months out from Matt Reeves' The Batman, but it is easy to see the confidence that WB has in their latest dip into the Gotham City pool. Having this series on the docket alongside the Gotham PD project shows that the studio is liking what they are seeing from this new Batman universe.
Looking at this Penguin project specifically, this could be something cool. Movies like Joker have proven that the Gotham-based villain origin can work, and Mr. Cobblepot here is one entry of Batman's rogues' gallery that could justify a deep dive into his past, especially after The Batman hits theaters.
In every medium, the Penguin is shown as a crime kingpin of Gotham, getting others to do the dirty work for him while he works in the shadows and pulls all the strings. Introducing the audience to his origin could be something cool.
Think of a comic book Goodfellas, Breaking Bad, or Sopranos, where audiences watch this character immerse himself in the dark world of crime and see his descent off the deep end.
One major issue this could face that the reference material mentioned above does so well is making the audience buy into this character enough to come along for the ride. The Penguin is an inherently unlikeable character, but if this team were to get people on board with him from the get-go, then they would still be bought in when he starts to dabble in truly unsavory activities.
If the writing team can get that buy-in to happen, then this could be something special.
