Colin Farrell to Reprise Role as The Penguin in ‘The Batman’ Spinoff Series at HBO Max

By Fletcher Peters @fIetcherpeters
Published Dec. 6, 2021, 6:23 p.m. ET

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Colin Farrell

We haven’t even seen The Batman yet, but Warner Bros. is already clamoring for more of Colin Farrell as The Penguin. The actor has signed on to star in and executive produce a series spinoff of The Batman, playing the main role in a spinoff on HBO Max, Variety reports.

Farrell’s debut in the role will be in The Batman, in which he’ll star as the villain alongside Robert Pattinson’s Batman. The movie is set to be released on March 4, 2022, with the streaming series debuting some time after that. The untitled show will reportedly delve into The Penguin’s rise to power in the criminal underworld. The series was reported back in September, although Farrell had yet to be attached at that time.

Lauren LeFranc has been tapped to pen the script. Executive producers include Farrell, The Batman director Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark. Warner Bros. Television is also set to produce.

On the TV side, Farrell has recently starred in the AMC+ drama The North Water and HBO’s True Detective. He most recently wrapped shooting on The Banshees of Inisherin, marking a reunion with In Bruges director Martin McDonough and co-star Brendan Gleeson.

The Penguin, aka Oswald Cobblepot, is a member of the Batman Rogues Gallery, recognizable by his ever-present top hat, monocle, and array of killer umbrellas. The character has previously been played by actors like Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito, and Robin Lord Taylor.

The Penguin-focused series marks the second spinoff from The Batman ordered by HBO Max. The streamer has already set a drama about the Gotham Police Department, which has attached Joe Barton as showrunner. Along with Untitled Penguin Spinoff Series (not the show’s name), there are a flurry of other live action DC shows in the works at HBO Max, like Peacemaker with John Cena, Greg Berlanti’s Green Lantern series, as well as a Justice League Dark series from J.J. Abrams.

Stay tuned for more information about Farrell in both The Batman and whatever the Penguin series is called.