Back in September, we reported on a story about HBO Max developing a spin-off of Matt Reeves’ The Batman that would focus on the rise of The Penguin, a.k.a. bird-like criminal mastermind Oswald Cobblepot. Penguin is being played by Colin Farrell in the movie, opposite Robert Pattinson’s The Batman and Jeffrey Wright’s The Jim Gordon, but—at least at the time—nobody had confirmed that Farrell would actually be in the show.
Well, good news for the regulars at the Iceberg Lounge: HBO Max’s Penguin show will have The Penguin. In other words, Colin Farrell has “signed on” to star in the spin-off, reprising his role from the movie that’s not out yet. That’s according to Variety’s sources, which says the script for the series will be written by Lauren LeFranc, but it sounds like the project hasn’t officially been given the full-season green light (that means there’s still a chance it won’t happen).
In other The Batman news, the other HBO Max spin-off of the movie is apparently still happening as well. That one will focus on the Gotham City Police Department, but it hasn’t been announced if Wright will be starring in that one. A lot of this is probably somewhat dependent on how things go with The Batman, which will finally be in theaters next year.
Aside from ol’ Bats, HBO Max’s Disney+ initiative to get more superhero shows on its platform has already begun with The Suicide Squad spin-off Peacemaker, which just got a trailer last week. That series will premiere on January 13 and will feature the return of John Cena’s eponymous mercenary. It will also feature The Vigilante, a character who seems perfectly suited for James Gunn’s wacky/edgy take on the DC universe. The Flash movie will probably get some kind of tie-in as well whenever that comes out.
