It looks like Warner Bros. has a lot of faith in Matt Reeves’s take on Batman in The Batman. It already announced one HBO Max spin-off series focusing on Gotham’s police department and is now looking to dive deeper into the Penguin. While the show had been rumored, it is now confirmed that Colin Farrell will reprise his role of the Penguin for another HBO Max series spinning out of The Batman.
The show is set to chronicle Oswald Cobblepot / the Penguin’s rise up through the criminal underworld. Farrell’s involvement, both as an actor and executive producer, means that this series won’t just be tangentially connected to the film but directly feature characters and plotlines that could impact sequels. It definitely shows that DC is looking to grow this little corner of its multiverse into something big, though whether or not this is an ongoing series or just something to flesh out The Batman‘s story is unknown. Reeves is also attached to the series as an executive producer, and Lauren LeFranc, who worked on Agents of SHIELD, is attached to write.
This makes two series coming to HBO Max in the pocket universe that The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson, is in. That’s a whole lot of TV time for a film that is reportedly not directly connected to any of the other DC films or shows in any way. The studio could see this take on Batman as something that could stand on its own legs, or it’s possible that the film does eventually connect with the rest of the DC films as The Flash begins hopping between universes. Whatever happens, it’s clear that DC believes people will tune in for as much Batman as possible, including for the Penguin on HBO Max.
The show has no release date yet, but The Batman hits theaters on March 4, 2022.
