The Penguin HBO Max show: Cast, plot, trailer, & more

Colin Farrell reprises his role as The Penguin in HBO Max’s The Batman spin-off show. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming series ahead of its debut.

The streets of Gotham City are flooded with crime and Colin Farrell’s The Penguin is out to seize control. Before Matt Reeves delivers The Batman 2 to the big screen, fans of Robert Pattinson’s take on the Dark Knight won’t have to wait too long for another hit of DC goodness.

Collin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot is getting his own HBO Max show, as The Batman establishes its own shared universe away from the DCEU.

So, prepare yourselves for another descent into Gotham’s underworld. Here’s all you need to know about The Penguin HBO Max show.

Contents

• The Penguin HBO Max show: is there a release date?
• The Penguin HBO Max show: Cast members
• The Penguin HBO Max show: Plot details
• The Penguin HBO Max show: Trailer

The Penguin HBO Max: Is there a release date?

There is no official release date for The Penguin right now, but it is slated to appear in 2025.

First look at MAX’s upcoming slate, including ‘THE PENGUIN’ and ‘WELCOME TO DERRY’. pic.twitter.com/ERYLurLyDJ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 6, 2023

If you’re keen to watch it and you’re in the U.S., you’ll need an HBO Max subscription. It is likely that it will be available for Sky subscribers in the UK, though this has yet to be confirmed.

The Penguin HBO Max: Who will be in it?

Currently, we know for certain Colin Farrell will be reprising the titular role. Obviously, given the show is set to focus primarily on The Penguin, what would it be without the star himself.

Beyond that, however, casting details are mostly being kept under wraps, though we do have a fair few names locked in already. After being mentioned in The Batman, a face is now being put to the name of Salvatore Maroni, as Clancy Brown has been cast in the role.

Additionally, Cristin Milioti is set to appear as Sofia Falcone, a prominent comic book character, one ultimately responsible for the downfall of Oswald Cobblepot, who we best know as The Penguin.

Other prolific stars like Michael Kelly of House of Cards fame, and Shohreh Aghdashloo of The Expanse, are also set to appear in the series, though the extent of their roles remains unclear.

One shocking cast announcement was that Mark Strong of the Kingsman movies, is billed to appear as Carmine Falcone. Falcone was portrayed by John Turturro in the Batman, and was ultimately killed by the Riddler, so Strong’s casting is prompting many fans to speculate that he could be appearing in a flashback scene.

It’s also notable that Strong has already portrayed a DC character in the past, appearing as Dr. Sivana in the DCEU’s Shazam!.

Of course, many of us are wondering whether Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne will appear. It has been rumored that he may cameo in the show, but nothing is yet confirmed.

The Penguin HBO Max: What will it be about?

Plot details have yet to emerge for The Penguin, but we do know that the show will be set at least one week after The Batman’s conclusion. The Penguin “starts about a week after the film The Batman ends. So Gotham is still somewhat underwater,” Farrell said to Extra.

“I read the first script for the first episode, and it opens up with my feet splashing through the water in Falcone’s office.”

Speaking with Collider, he also revealed that he has “read the first episode, which is just so tasty and so unusual as the character was on the page and what Matt Reeves kind of envisioned when he was thinking of this iteration of the bang-up of Oz.”

The show will likely be “six or eight hours” according to Farrell. Though Reeves is busy prepping The Batman’s sequel movie, Farrell has assured fans that “Matt Reeves is all over it. And sure Matt is borderline OCD when it comes to his focus and trying to do something new and original and with feeling and aesthetic and all that good stuff.”

In addition to this, it appears the series will also be directly linked to The Batman 2 and the greater Matt Reeves universe. When speaking with Collider, Reeves revealed that The Penguin won’t just be a standalone series.

“There’s actually a whole little fabric of things we’re wanting to do, the way we’re doing with [the] Penguin and how that comes back into… how that will lead into the sequel, and what that sequel is going to be.”

Reeves added that “there are some other things we have planned too. […] The BatVerse of what we’re doing has me very, very excited, and I’m very passionate about it. So I’m excited.” 

Craig Zobel (The Mare of Easttown) will be directing the first two episodes.

The Penguin HBO Max: Is there a trailer?

The first trailer for The Penguin was released on April 12, 2023 and showed a mix of behind the scenes shots as well as finished footage.

Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell is #ThePenguin.

The new Max Original Series from Matt Reeves and the next chapter in @TheBatman saga is now in production. Coming in 2024 to Max. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/dIWeBWz7wI

— Max (@StreamOnMax) April 12, 2023

In the trailer, we see Oswald Cobblepot meeting with several new mobsters that will be introduced in this show, including Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone. The show will expand on Penguin’s ascent following the events of the Batman and how he will ultimately become the biggest kingpin in Gotham City.

We will update this article when we learn more.

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