Max Releases First Trailer For 'The Penguin', Sets Fall Premiere

Known since its mothership 'The Batman' was even released, this spinoff miniseries has been a long time coming

The Cobblepot returns in Max’s first trailer for The Penguin, the long-awaited spinoff to DC’s blockbuster The Batman. With Colin Farrell reprising his role, the eight-episode miniseries will premiere on Max this fall, with no specific date given.

It takes place practically immediately after the film but in reality a week, and covers Oswald Cobblepot’s rise to power in the wake of the devastation to Gotham City. Ozzy narrates with a Tony Soprano-esque gangster monologue over the escalating gunfights and violence. As he goes “When I was a kid, there was a gangster, real old-school type. Rex Calabrese. He was a big deal. He helped people. He saw you on the street, he’d call out to you. When I was 14 or something, he has a heart attack and dies, still holding a cigar. In my neighborhood, they throw a parade in his honor. A friggin’ parade. It wasn’t fancy, but it was a gesture, a show of love, of what he meant. Can you imagine to be remembered like that?”

The Penguin’s cast also includes Cristin Milioti as Carmine Falcone’s daughter Sofia, Michael Zegen as Carmine’s son Alberto and Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, one of Gotham’s former top gangsters. Michael Kelly plays Johnny Vitti, the underboss of the Falcone crime family, while Rhenzy Feliz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau and David H. Holmes also have roles but are undisclosed.

The credited creator and showrunner is Lauren LeFranc, whose previous work includes Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Batman writer-director Matt Reeves executive produces through his 6th & Idaho production company. Executive producer Craig Zabel is the director of the first three episodes. Dylan Clark, Daniel Pipski and Bill Carraro are also executive producing with Farrell and LeFranc, while Ravi Crohn co-executive produces. Production began in March 2023, halted by the dual strikes in June, and resumed after Thanksgiving as the actors’ deal was made in the weeks before.

The miniseries will give fans a morsel of the world as they await The Batman: Part II, which was recently delayed to October 2, 2026, a year from the originally announced October 2025 date.

Source: Variety