Amidst all the upcoming comic book projects slated to release within the next couple of years, The Penguin spinoff series for HBO Max is one that should definitely be on every fan's radar. Now, The Batman spinoff series is eyeing to kick its production off in early 2023.
While having limited screen time in The Batman, Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin was one of the big highlights of the film, as his portrayal of the iconic villain was immediately praised by fans and critics. Although still early in development, what director Matt Reeves has shared about the upcoming project is that it will have a Scarface-esque story that will see the Penguin climb to the top of the criminal underworld as he tries to achieve the mythic status as seen in the comics.
According to Deadline, the upcoming limited Penguin series is scheduled to begin filming in February 2023. Despite fans' worries of the series being a victim of aggressive budget cuts, as seen with other DC projects for HBO Max, most recently the canceled Batgirl film, Zaslav ensures that Warner Bros. is "going to spend dramatically more" on HBO Max original programming in 2022 and 2023. "Quality is what matters. Quality is what Casey [Bloys, HBO Max Chief Content Officer] and that team is delivering. It's the best team in the business. We're doubling down on that HBO team," Zaslav said. "They're all committed under contract and we're going to spend dramatically more this year and next year than we spent last year in the year before."
The Penguin was given the green light back in March and will be executive produced by Reeves, Farrell, Dylan Clark, and Lauren LeFranc, who writes and serves as showrunner. Farrell also shared his excitement for what LeFranc has cooking up, noting that the creative team has exciting ideas for the series. One aspect that completes the character is of course the makeup, something that made Farrell almost unrecognizable in the role.
Similar to Danny DeVito's portrayal as the Penguin in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, Farrell also wore heavy prosthetics for his depiction of the crime boss in The Batman, all done by makeup artist Mike Marino. In fact, Farrell said the prosthetics were so good that when he would walk into certain shops or restaurants in full makeup during The Batman's production in order to get a feel for the character, people would stare.
The Penguin is in early development and The Batman is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: Deadline