The Penguin: Max Releases Chilling First Look at The 2024 Spin-off of The Batman

The Penguin has arrived at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max Presentation to let everyone know who is the true Kingpin of Gotham City.

Max (Formerly HBOMax) has released a first-look trailer for the next chapter in Matt Reeves’ exciting Batman Saga: The Penguin. Check it out:

Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell is #ThePenguin.

The new Max Original Series from Matt Reeves and the next chapter in @TheBatman saga is now in production. Coming in 2024 to Max. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/dIWeBWz7wI
— Max (@StreamOnMax) April 12, 2023

This trailer for The Penguin oozes with possibilities. I was skeptical upon star Colin Farrell’s casting in The Batman, but the chamelonic actor soon won me over with his gritty, take-no-prisoners portrayal and I’m excited to see what this series offers. This trailer suggests the series will see Oswald Cobblepot rise to power in a bid to be the king of crime in a lawless and broken Gotham City, with implications that a (likely doomed) romance may be blossoming alongside that.

The gritty aesthetic and visuals were some of the standout elements of Matt Reeves’ The Batman and it’s good to see The Penguin carrying them over. We didn’t get a ton of screen time with Penguin in The Batman, given its various complex moving parts, but giving the spotlight over to him here could potentially allow for a Sopranos-esque story told within the burgeoning Batverse. Focusing on The Penguin also presents the opportunity to dig deeper into Gotham City’s criminal underworld and the widespread corruption it feeds off of.

We know that the series takes place after the events of The Batman, so Gotham City is in the early stages of rebuilding itself. With Gotham being in such a weakened state, it would be the perfect time for criminals to rise and take it over. It’s currently unknown whether Robert Pattinson’s Batman or Bruce Wayne will pop in for a cameo or how thoroughly the events of this series will impact The Batman: Part II, but at the very least it should be something interesting to tide us over until the new film comes out on October 3, 2025.

**Who’s Behind The Penguin?**

The Penguin is being used as the first series to debut under HBOMax’s new name, Max. The name change comes as a result of the merging between Warner Bros and Discovery that took place several months ago. The series’ cast includes Academy Award Nominee Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Deirdre O’Connell in lead roles, with Clancy Brown and Michael Zegan in recurring roles. It will be executive produced by Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell,, Lauren LeFranc, Craig Zobel, and Bill Carraro.

Lefranc will serve as the series showrunner and Zobel will direct the first three episodes out of the planned eight. The series will be produced by Dylan Clark Productions, and Reeves’ 6^th & Idaho Productions in association with Warner Bros Television. Reeves and 6^th & Idaho currently have an ongoing deal to produce any of his Batverse content under Warner Bros Television. 6^th & Idaho’s Dave Pipski will also serve as an executive producer and Rafi Crohn will serve as co-executive producer.

The Penguin character has appeared across various pieces of media, from comics, TV shows, movies, video games, and more. In live action, the character has been portrayed by Burgess Meredith in the classic 1960s Batman TV show, while Danny DeVito took the reigns in 1992’s Batman Returns and Robin Lord Taylor followed from him in Fox’s Gotham TV show from 2014-2019. The Penguin was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Here’s hoping Colin Farrell and the talented creative team ensure The Penguin flies to become strong entertainment. We at The Illuminerdi will keep you updated on The Penguin and be there when it premieres on Max in 2024.

What are your thoughts on The Penguin’s first look trailer? Are you excited to see Colin Farrell return to Gotham City? What did you think of him in The Batman? Let us know on our social media.

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