HBO Max’s The Penguin series grows Gotham’s criminal underworld.
After years of patiently waiting, The Batman finally hit theatres this March. It is beloved by critics and audiences alike, scoring 85% and 87% on Rotten Tomatoes score respectively. It also grossed more than $750 Million and is at the global box office making it one of the most successful films of the year. Many fans can’t get enough of Matt Reeves’ moody and atmospheric interpretation of Gotham and its characters and couldn’t be more excited that the writer/director is currently developing the screenplay for the sequel alongside Matson Tomlin.
While The Batman 2 will have to wait for at least another few years, we are going back to Gotham a lot sooner. Reeves wants to expand his Batman universe due to multiple spin-offs. While we knew for a while that there are plans for an Arkham Asylum show, which just got a new showrunner with The Devil All the Time’s Antonio Campos, there are still conflicting reports if the show about the Gotham Police Department has been scrapped or not.
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Newest reports also suggest that Reeves’ looking for directors to helm spin-off films about some of Batman’s iconic villains like Scarecrow and Clayface. But our next entry into this version of Gotham will be with the HBO Max Limited spin-off series The Penguin, which brings back Colin Farell, who reprised the role in The Batman.
As the show is nearing its production start it has now also found its female lead.
GOTHAM JUST GOT A BIT MORE CROWDED
Deadline has now revealed that Cristin Milioti joins the series as Sofia Falcone, the daughter of John Turturro’s Carmine Falcon, who appeared in the original film. Sofia is fighting with The Penguin for control of the city.
Milioti is best known for her role as Tracy in the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother or for her role in an episode of Black Mirror. She also had a part in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Since then, she played the female lead in one of 2020s most beloved films Palm Springs, appeared in Season 2 of the acclaimed show Fargo and played the leading role in two seasons of the HBO Max show Made for Love. She was last seen on the Peacock original series The Resort.
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Lauren LeFranc (Agents of Shield) serves as a writer and showrunner of The Penguin. Craig Zobel who directed all 7 episodes of the acclaimed HBO limited series Mare of Easttown and the 2022 surprise hit The Hunt will direct the first two episodes of the limited series.
There is not much known about the plot of the series other than that it will pick up where The Batman left off and will follow Oswald Cobblepot as he tries to become the leader of Gotham’s criminal underworld. Milioti’s casting gives us a better impression of what the series tries to tell as there seem to be more people interested in taking Carmine Falconi’s place. It will also be interesting to see where Sofia has been during the events of The Batman and if she knows the Penguin.
I am quite intrigued by this series. I am eager to jump back into Reeves’ Gotham and the talent assembled for this show excites me quite a bit. Cristin Milioti joining the project is the cherry on top as she has been delivering great work for years and I’m excited to finally see her in a bigger role. It will also be interesting to see if she might show up in the sequel to The Batman.
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What do you guys think? Are you excited about this casting? Are you interested in The Penguin? Let’s discuss everything in the comments down below and on our social media.
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Source: Deadline
