Actor Colin Farrell will executive produce and star in a series spin-off of The Batman, reprising his upcoming role as The Penguin. Variety first reported this news.
That Farrell is already eager to return to a role that audiences have not yet had a chance to see him in bodes well for his performance. He’ll make his debut as The Penguin on March 4, 2022–when The Batman arrives in theaters. The film will follow the Dark Knight as he unravels corruption in Gotham City, and it features Robert Pattinson (Tenet) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeffrey Wright (What If…?) as James Gordon, Andy Serkis (Black Panther) as Alfred Pennyworth, Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) as The Riddler, Farrell (True Detective) as Oswald Cobblepot, and Zoë Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road) as Selina Kyle.
Lauren LeFranc (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) will reportedly be among the show’s writers. Note that as of this writing, representatives for HBO and Warner Bros. Television have not provided a comment.
This newly-announced spin-off is the one of now two coming from the film. Previously, it was announced that director and co-writer Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) is developing an HBO Max series that will focus on the Gotham City Police Department. The Penguin spin-off’s existence has been known for some time, but it’s only as of this announcement that Farrell has officially signed on to reprise the role.
Actor Danny DeVito–who has written a Penguin comic included as part of DC’s newly-released Gotham Villains Anniversary anthology–is letting it be known that he is interested in reprising his 1992 role as that villain from Batman Returns.
