HBO has just released the first image from their upcoming Batman-related series, The Penguin starring Colin Farrell from Matt Reeves’ The Batman. After turning critics’ and audiences’ heads in last year’s movie about the early years of Bruce Wayne as the caped crusader, Farrell is now coming back to the character for his own small screen series.
The universe that Reeves has built belongs to the Elseworlds label that the new DC slate that Co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have started working on. Not being connected to the larger umbrella that is the DCU, the world Reeves created is a world in itself with its own set of Batman characters. And that world is expanding.
The HBO Series The Penguin Releases First Photo
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Kalina Ivanov, the series production designer posts on her official Instagram, via Heroic Hollywood, a photo of a compass with the caption:
The first day of shooting THE PENGUIN is in the can. Only the compass can tell us in what Gotham direction we’re going. My lips are sealed…#thepenguin #filmmaking #hbomax #productiondesign
Without much detail about the upcoming series, one can only deduce that the story covers Oswald Cobblepot’s rise to power. In The Batman, the topmost seat of Gotham City’s organized crime syndicate is wide open for anyone who dares to occupy it and take over after Carmine Falcone’s death.
Indeed, even IMDb puts the series description as
…the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.
Joining Farrell in the series as cast are Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, then Shohreh Aghdashloo, Michael Kelly, Deirdre O’Connell and Rhenzy Feliz in undisclosed characters. Craig Zobel will be helming the series, and Lauren LeFranc wrote it.
Zobel is a two-time Primetime Emmy Nominee for his work on 2021’s Mare of Easttown. Other recent works include two episodes of the television series Homestar Runner, One Dollar and Westworld, 2020 feature film The Hunt.
Interestingly enough, he seems to have been bound to direct a series set in Gotham City as he has Gotham Awards way back in 2007, acknowledging him as the winner of the Gotham Independent Film Award Breakthrough Director for Great World of Sound.
Meanwhile, LeFranc wrote six episodes for the television series Impulse while also being the series’ executive producer. She also has quite a lot of experience in writing for television series of comic book characters as she wrote seven episodes for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.spanning from 2013 to 2016.
Equally notable is her work on 2007’s series Chuck starring Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski, in which she served as a writer and also oversaw executive story editing and the series’ teleplay.
First Image From The Penguin Series Hints At Direction
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
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While the upcoming series is billed as a crime drama with elements of fantasy, the direction of the series could also cover dark comedy. These are all up LeFranc’s alley based on the many titles she has under her belt.
Besides the origin of Penguin in the series, the audiences will expect the appearance of Robert Pattinson’s Batman or at least Bruce Wayne. Naturally, the character will truly be instrumental in establishing a strong connection to the theatrical features aside from Farrell himself.
By the end of last year’s movie, the character Selina Kyle who is also Catwoman, portrayed by Zoë Kravitz, deemed Gotham City hopeless. Unlike Selina, however, Bruce intended to stay and offer hope to the people of Gotham. Could Oswald take advantage of that hope and thrive in the shadows amidst the chaos of the city? The city seems to really have two faces, one of crime and one of the limelight.
Are you looking forward to watching The Penguin on HBO? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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