The Penguin is a new mini-series coming to our small screens in 2024. As its indicates, it will be centered on Oswald Cobblepot AKA the Penguin, one of the most famous villains in the Batman universe. This series is part of the same universe as the film The Batman by Matt Reeves released in 2022. Release date, story, casting, we take stock of what there is to know about this promising show.
We can no longer count the series adapted from the DC universe. Some turned out to be excellent and enjoyed great success with the public, such as Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Flash or Gotham or even the hilarious Peacemaker to name just a few.
On the cinema side, however, it must be recognized that recent DC productions are far from having made an impression and still suffer from the obvious comparison with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What if the MCU isn’t in its best shape since the death of Tony Stark and the end of the narrative arc centered on the Infinity Stones, things are hardly more encouraging for its competitor.
When will The Penguin be released?
For the moment, we do not have a specific release date for The Penguin. However, the latest teaser published on YouTube at the end of March 2023 gives us a release window: fall 2024. We therefore see that The Penguin will not be part of Max’s launch catalog. Damage…
What platform will The Penguin be released on?
The Penguin is one of the first series to come to Max, the brand new streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery. As a reminder, Max replaced HBO Max after the merger of the two entertainment giants. According to recent statements from a Warner executive, Max will finally arrive in France this year.
If the exact date is not yet known, the streaming service must arrive according to its statements before the start of the Paris Olympicstherefore before July 26, 2024. For good reason, Max will be one of the broadcasters of certain events via the Eurosport channels.
The Batman, the starting point of the series
The Flash was a catastrophic critical and public failure, just like the second episode of Shazam, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom or Blue Beetle recently. There was, however, one exception in this mountain of disappointments: the film The Batman by Matt Reeves. Released in 2022, the feature film from the creator of the last trilogy The Planet of the Apes had the advantage of not being part of the straitjacket imposed by the DCU (editor’s note: DC Universe).
In other words, the filmmaker had free rein to make a dark, brutal film and which in many ways recalls the approach adopted by Christopher Nolan in his trilogy. For beginners, The Batman allows us to discover the early years of Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight in Gotham riddled with organized crime, corruption, inequality and violence.
Carried by a particularly convincing Robert Pattinson, the film also allows us to highlight the beginnings of certain characters who would become iconic adversaries of the Bat years later. We think in particular of the mystery man (here played by Paul Dano) or even Oswald Cobblepot AKA the Penguinplayed by an unrecognizable Colin Farrel.
What is The Penguin about?
As indicated by his name, The Penguin will obviously center on the famous gangster. Let us also specify that the series is directly in the continuity of The Batman. For good reason, the events narrated in the show will take place just a few weeks after the end of Matt Reeves’ film which, as a reminder, leaves us with a Gotham ravaged by water (editor’s note: we will not go further to avoid any spoilers).
From what we know so far, the series will allow us to discover the rise to power of Oswald Cobblepot in the city’s crime empire. According to Dylan Clark, executive producer of the series and The Batmanthe evolution of the character will be comparable to that of a Tony Montana In Scarface. Oswald is also described by Matt Reeves as someone “underestimated… Nobody thinks he is capable of doing anything, but he believes in himself with visceral violence”.
Still according to the filmmaker, The Penguin was designed to develop the characters and the universe of The Batmanbut also for bridge the gap between the film and its sequelrecently postponed to the end of 2026.
How many episodes will The Penguin have?
According to previous statements from Lauren LeFranc, the main writer, the series will have a total of 8 episodes. We do not yet know the names of the different episodes or their duration. Furthermore, Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet specified whether the entire season will be available at launch or whether episodes will be released in small increments on a weekly basis.
Who is the cast of The Penguin?
As you can imagine, we will obviously find Colin Farrel in the role of Oswald Cobblepot. Indeed, the Irish actor confirmed in December 2023 his big return in the skin of the gangster.
Among the other main roles, it should be noted the presence of Cristin Milioti who will play Sophia Falcone. She is the daughter of Carmine Falcone, the former king of organized crime in Gotham (now behind bars after the events of the film). Rhenzy Feliz has been announced in the role of a teenager who will befriend the Penguin. He will act as the bandit’s driver.
Here is the rest of the cast:
- Michael Kelly
- Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Deirdre O’Connell
- Clancy Brown
- Michael Zegen
- James Madio
- Scott Cohen
- Theo Rossi
- Carmen Ejogo
- François Chau
- David H. Holmes
Who is in charge of The Penguin?
Lauren LeFranc, American screenwriter, showrunner and producer (Agents of SHIELD, Chuck, Impulse) is at the head of the project. She is also the main writer of the series. Of course, Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, wanted to be an integral part of the creative process as executive producer via his company 6th & Idaho.
He is obviously not alone in this role:
- Dylan Clark (via his company Dylan Clark Productions)
- Bill Carraro
- Colin Farrell
- Daniel Pipsky
- Adam Kassan
- Lauren LeFranc
- Craig Zobel
- Bill Carraro
The different trailers for The Penguin
For now, the trailers for The Penguin can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In November 2023, Warner released a first trailer to confirm the production of the series. The opportunity to see some extracts from the filming and lay the foundations of the series’ storyline.
We then had to wait until March 2024 to discover a first proper teaser of The Penguin. This trailer gives pride of place to the all-consuming ambition of the character, who dreams of seeing his name passed down to posterity… Whatever the cost.