The Penguin: What we know about Colin Farrell’s The Batman TV spin-off on Max

The penguin is getting ready to waddle onto TV screens worldwide. The first of two confirmed TV spin-offs from The hitterIn the upcoming crime thriller, Colin Farrell returns as the infamous titular crime lord – known as Oz Cobb, not Oswald Cobblepot – as he makes a play to become Gotham City’s new undisputed crime kingpin.

Before we get carried away with discussing the plot, let’s back up and make sure we cover other must-know information about the DC Comics-inspired series. Below you will find the latest news about The penguin ahead of its debut on Max (US) and Sky/Now TV (UK), including US release month, confirmed cast, story details, trailers and how the story may impact The Batman Part 2.

Full spoilers follow for 2022 The hitter movie. Potential spoilers for The penguin are also discussed.

Penguin’s release date: what we know

The penguin It doesn’t have a full release date, but it will be out on Max in September (at least in the US). The penguin The TV show’s release month was confirmed in mid-June, just days after HBO boss Casey Bloys provided an update on a number of Max TV shows, including this neo-noir crime series.

As mentioned, it will also be released in Britain, but according to a press release from Sky, “information regarding distribution in Britain and Ireland will follow in due course.” So it is unclear when The penguin will be seen on the British coast. There’s also no information yet on an Australian release date and home streaming for the show.

The Penguin Trailer

The penguinThe game’s official trailer made its debut on June 20, with the two-minute teaser giving us our clearest look at the story yet. Set in the immediate aftermath of The hitterIn the Gotham finale, it is revealed that Oz Cobb will attempt to seize control of Gotham’s criminal underbelly as a civil war breaks out between the city’s various criminal factions following the death of crime boss Carmine Falcone in The hitter.

Missed The penguin‘s first trailer, which arrived in March, revealed that Oz Cobb will find himself on the criminal warpath The hitter‘s first TV spin-off? Check it out below:

The Penguin Cast: Confirmed and Rumored

Here is The penguin‘s confirmed cast so far:

• Colin Farrell as Oz’ Cobb/The Penguin
• Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone
• Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar
• Michael Kelly as Johnny Viti
• Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni
• Deirdre O’Connell as Francis Cobb
• Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni
• James Madio as Milos Grapa
• Scott Cohen as Luca Falcone
• Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone
• Carmen Ejogo as Eva Karlo
• Theo Rossi as Doctor Julian Rush

Milioti, who some viewers may recognize as the titular mother of How I met your mother, will be the main antagonist of the series – well, if you can call Farrell’s Cobb the ‘hero’ of this piece. She is the daughter of the recently deceased Carmine, so she will battle Cobb for control of Gotham’s criminal underworld. However, judging by the show’s second trailer, she’ll have to get her hands dirty to earn the respect of her fellow criminals inside and outside the Falcone family.

Blessing (Boardwalk Empire, The wonderful Mrs. Maisel) plays Sofia’s brother, Alberto, while Kelly (Jack Ryan by Tom Clancy) will play Viti, the underboss of the Falcone family – essentially Carmine’s second-in-command – who Cobb has seen reveal where his loyalties lie (i.e. with the Falcones) in the second teaser. You can expect this duo to help Sofia in her battle with Oz – you know, once the wider Falcone family and their associates start listening to her.

However, the titular character won’t face this conflict alone. O’Connell (Out of range) will play Francis Cobb, also in some form of relationship with Oz (maybe his wife?), while Feliz (Runaways) will play a character named Victor, who appears to be Oz’s chief lackey.

It is also possible that Brown (Invincible, Gen V), who plays Maroni, will team up with Cobb to usurp the Falcone family. Per DeadlineMaroni is a mafia boss who was involved in a historic drug bust in which Carmine Falcone was the informant for the Gotham City Police Department. Maroni will certainly still have a problem with the Falcone family, and can form an alliance with Cobb to bring their empire to its knees. That could be the case anyway, provided they get along, which the second trailer suggests they may not fully do.

As for actors who may be involved but haven’t been confirmed yet, it appears that Mark Strong (Shazam!, 1917) will also appear. Respond to a fan question at InstagramStrong’s personal trainer Giacomo Farci said he trained Strong for a role on the show. Will we know who he plays before release? We’ll have to wait and see.

Speculation about the Penguin story

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has not yet released an official story synopsis for The penguin yet. In a press release accompanying both trailers, the entertainment giant simply teased that “the DC Studios drama series will continue for eight episodes The hitter epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves started… and revolves around the character Farrell plays in the film.”

However, there are some details – some small, some important – that we are aware of. I speak to Ny Breaking in advance The hitterFollowing the series’ release, Farrell revealed the runtime of the Max show, with the beloved actor suggesting it would be “six to eight hours” of story spread over eight episodes.

Elaborating on what we can expect from this new Batman production, Farrell also told Ny Breaking: “(I’m excited about) getting more into the character and, as you say, maybe learning more about his origins and the Oz that we meet in the movie.

“I only have six or seven scenes in the movie, so Oz is still an unknown quantity for me as well. So I’ve been really excited by the prospect of learning what the parameters are, if indeed there are any.” As for the character, I mean, he has a wonderful sense of humor. He’s quite funny, but he’s not, but he thinks he is. He’s also a bit broken inside, like a lot of us, so it’ll be fun to explore all those aspects.”

Expanding on some non-spoiler-based elements, Farrell shared FilmZine: “It’s dark – that’s what I can tell you about it. It’s really dark and really heavy… it’s incredibly violent. It is the rise of one man to what he has always dreamed of, namely a certain power or social status.”

As far as spoilers go earlier The penguin is being launched, you’ll want to read our The hitter ending explained article for more details. Based on the two trailers, and as we teased in our cast section, there will be a power vacuum in Gotham’s criminal underworld after Carmine Falcone’s death, so we can expect multiple factions to play for their share of the money , the drugs and the crime. guns shooting through the city. Uneasy alliances can also form as individuals like Oz need some financial or armed support in their efforts to become Gotham’s new kingpin.

It seems everyone will try to take advantage of the wider chaos that has engulfed Gotham The hitter‘s final. There are some clues as to what happened in our review of The hitter and the aforementioned final explainer. But to give you some extra hints about the story, Farrell shared Variety That The penguin will be determined a week later The hitter, with Gotham still underwater after The Riddler’s explosive (and successful) plan to flood the city. Judging from what the trailers showed, it seems like Oz and Sofia will see each other as kindred spirits who, despite their obvious rivalry, are both trying to show the rest of the city’s top crime-based players that they mean business.

Hopefully we’ll learn more about what’s in store for Oz and Gotham’s other criminal enterprises in the run-up to the show’s debut.

Will The Penguin tie into The Batman Part 2?

In all probability. A continuation on The hitter was announced in April 2022, just a month after the critically acclaimed film – see where it ranks on our best Batman movie guide – flew into the theaters.

Whereas The penguin is part of Matt Reeves’ The hitter universe, it would be bizarre if the gritty and grounded TV series doesn’t influence what happens in the upcoming film, which was recently pushed back to its original release date of October 2025. Yes, The penguin is a standalone story that will not focus on the Dark Knight, but the events described in it will certainly play a role in it The Batman Part 2even if plot details come from The penguin is only mentioned in passing.

If Cobb triumphs in his self-titled show and becomes Gotham’s new crime boss, we naturally expect him to appear in a few scenes. The hitter follow-up. After all, Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader and Jeremy Wright’s Commissioner interrogated Gordon Oz The hitter to get some important information about The Riddler. The pair will then reluctantly enlist Cobb’s help again, when the next threat to Gotham’s security becomes too big for them to handle – or, you know, when they need some dirt on the next criminal/supervillain to come wants to take over the city and/or the city. or Bruce Wayne on their knees.

For more DC-based coverage, learn how to watch the DC movies in order or how to watch the Batman movies in order. You can also learn more about every DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) project in development via our DCU Chapter One hub, or learn more about James Gunn’s Superman film, which is expected to be released in July 2025.