Credit: The Batman
Are you ready for The Penguin?
Ever since the debut of Matt Reeves The Batman, HBO Max has clearly wanted to bank off the rich lore of Gotham. Reportedly, there are talks of doing an Arkham Asylum series for the streaming service, but there hasn’t been much news about that since August. Originally, Reeves was going to do a series called Gotham P.D.; however, that was ultimately canceled, and fans were still left wondering whether Colin Farrell’s The Penguin series was still going to be made.
Those fears were put to rest during the time when HBO Max was canceling everything left and right, as Reeves explained his excitement over the series back in early August:
“We’re doing this Penguin series and one of the great things about that is Colin Farrell – he’s like you’ve never seen him. He’s so incredible and he’s a scene-stealer. Along the way, we thought maybe we could do [Oz] as a series,” Reeves told The Toronto Sun. “So I talked to HBO Max and showed them Colin in the movie and spoke to them about what this would be and they said, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we’re doing that and we’re doing another series that connects to Arkham [Asylum]. We are talking and thinking about the next movie, but to be honest with you, at the moment, I really want the audience to connect with this. And I really believe they will because I think Rob is an incredible Batman.”
Credit: The Batman
Colin Farrell’s Penguin was indeed one of the standouts in the latest Batman film. It’s not particularly surprising that Farrell was so strong in the film as the 46-year-old has received praise for many of his features, including The Lobster and In Bruges, two films for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for the formerly prestigious awards show. More importantly, Farrell brought something new to Penguin’s character that separated him from past incarnations of the popular DC villain.
However, the biggest news here is that the new series has finally attached a director for the first two episodes. That honor goes to Craig Zobel, whose credentials include all seven episodes of Mare of Easttown – which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Oustanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie – The Leftovers, Westworld, and American Gods. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news. Zobel will also executive produce the show, which comes from writer and showrunner Lauren LeFranc.
At the moment, there’s no set date for when the show will move into the production phase, though things seem to be going smoothly with The Penguin series now that all the pieces of the puzzle are starting to be put together. Colin Farrell is still the only cast member confirmed for the upcoming Batman spin-off. The actor told Comicbook.com recently about the new series and gave a little more insight into the premise of the HBO Max show:
Credit: The Batman
“So far, the experience of maybe bringing Os into a six or eight-hour journey is the same, it’s really collaborative. The writer, Lauren LeFranc has some extraordinary ideas. And it’s just that it’s kind of an amazing character to explore, his kind of awkwardness, and his strength, and his villainy, yes, his propensity for violence. But there’s also a heartbroken man inside there you know, which just makes it really tasty. I would love to do it. I won’t believe it until I’m in the suit, and in Mike Marino’s makeup, and I hear action, then I’ll believe and see.”
We’ll keep you updated as the show continues to develop in the coming months.
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