Batman’s world is expanding, and its star power is rising. A few months back, news broke that Warner Bros. was developing a show centered on the new iteration of the Penguin from the upcoming Matt Reeves film The Batman. Colin Farrell plays Penguin in the film but, at the time, it was unclear if the star would reprise the role for the series. Now we know that he will.
Variety broke the news of the unsurprising but welcome casting which will keep the Bat-spinoff continuity in check. Reportedly, the show will “delve into the Penguin’s rise to power in the Gotham criminal underworld,” though that doesn’t make it clear if it’s set before or after the Reeves film. We say that because we don’t know where Penguin, aka Oswald Cobblepot, is during the movie. Is he already the Penguin? Has that full transition happened yet? The new trailer certainly shows that he comes face to face with Batman in the form of a fiery car chase so you assume he’s already a formidable villain — but where specifically that is in his journey versus the show is yet to be revealed.
Lauren LeFranc (Impulse, Chuck, Agents of SHIELD) is now attached to write the script while The Batman director Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark will executive produce. That pair is also producing another series set in the world of their film that’ll focus on the Gotham City Police Department. So it’s rather clear that Reeves film is not only Year One in the career of the Caped Crusader, but Chapter One in a whole new Bat-Universe for Warner Bros. and DC.
Farrell will debut his villainous character on March 4 when The Batman hits theatres. He co-stars along with Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Robert Pattinson, of course, is Batman.