Max’s The Penguin Rises
He’s dangerous, he’s terrifying, he’s an extra in Surf’s Up … and he’s got a new teaser.
Friendship with the man obsessed with bats is over; the man obsessed with penguins is my new best friend. Max is soon debuting a new show set in the universe of the Matt Reeves–directed The Batman. That film, for reference, debuted the Robert Pattinson version of Batman, not the currently still-maybe-around Ben Affleck version of the Batman in the Snyder-verse or the extremely recent Christopher Nolan version of the Batman. Nor is this universe the same as the Joker-verse (as in no Lady Gaga, mainly). Okay, cool. This new show, however, will not be focused on any version of Batman at all. Instead, it focuses on Colin Farrell as the Penguin, one of Batman’s opponents. With all the various Batman and Batman-hater universes flying around, below are the trailer, release date, and everything else we know about the upcoming eight-episode Max series The Penguin.
How are they making a The Batman spinoff?
The Penguin is set to follow the titular man, known outside his penguin-sona as Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, or as the press release announcing this show referred to him: Oz, which isn’t that much cooler. (Go by Oswald, you dork!) Oz’s whole deal is that he’s a part of the mob as a lieutenant of Carmine Falcone, the mob boss. In this version of The Batman, Falcone is also the father of Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman — a fact that is pretty interesting given that Sofia Falcone will be in the show too. The show will concern both Sofia and Oz, who are fighting for control of Gotham, according to Deadline.
What happens in the trailer?
In the first full trailer for The Penguin, “Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell” is fully written out onscreen more than once, which makes sense because he is otherwise completely unrecognizable. The story of the Penguin results in a gangster, Scorsese-esque show, with little to do with any superhero vibes. (A little like the gritty origin story of another Batman villain.) Cristin Milioti does not get a title card, but she does get a lot of airtime as rival gangster girlie Sofia Falcone, and she’s serving. When she smears blood on her chest? Now that’s the slay stuff.
Who’s in the cast?
Farrell will return as the Penguin, and Milioti is playing Sofia Falcone. Per Deadline, Clancy Brown will recur as rival mob boss Salvatore Maroni, while Variety reports that Michael Zegen will play Sofia’s brother, Alberto Falcone. Michael Kelly confirmed to The Wrap that he will round out the Falcone crime family as underboss Johnny Vitti. Marvel’s Runaways star Rhenzy Feliz will join the DC Universe in a currently unnamed role. The only other cast members that have been announced so far are Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Theo Rossi, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, David H. Holmes, Craig Walker, and Jared Abarahmson — all playing yet-to-be-revealed characters. However, it seems altogether possible that John Turturro, who played Carmine Falcone in The Batman, could be back, or even Kravitz as Selina Kyle.
When’s it coming out?
The June 20 trailer narrowed the date down to September 2024. Any further information is currently a riddle (Paul Dano’s version).
This post has been updated.
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