*sopranos theme*

The Penguin Rises

Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti. Photo: Macall Polay/Max

Friendship with the man obsessed with bats is over; the man obsessed with penguins is my new best friend. Max is soon debuting a new show set in the universe of the Matt Reevesā€“directed The Batman. That film, for reference, debuted the Robert Pattinson version of Batman, not the currently still-maybe-around Ben Affleck version of the Batman in the Snyder-verse or the extremely recent Christopher Nolan version of the Batman. Nor is this universe the same as the Joker-verse (as in no Lady Gaga, mainly). Okay, cool. This new show, however, will not be focused on any version of Batman at all. Instead, it focuses on Colin Farrell as the Penguin, one of Batmanā€™s opponents. With all the various Batman and Batman-hater universes flying around, below are the trailer, release date, and everything else we know about the upcoming eight-episode Max series The Penguin.

How are they making a The Batman spinoff?

The Penguin is set to follow the titular man, known outside his penguin-sona as Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, or as the press release announcing this show referred to him: Oz, which isnā€™t that much cooler. (Go by Oswald, you dork!) Ozā€™s whole deal is that heā€™s a part of the mob as a lieutenant of Carmine Falcone, the mob boss. In this version of The Batman, Falcone is also the father of Selina Kyle, a.k.a. ZoĆ« Kravitzā€™s Catwoman ā€” a fact that is pretty interesting given that Sofia Falcone will be in the show too. The show will concern both Sofia and Oz, who are fighting for control of Gotham, according to Deadline.

What happens in the trailer?

In the first full trailer for The Penguin, ā€œAcademy Award nominee Colin Farrellā€ is fully written out onscreen more than once, which makes sense because he is otherwise completely unrecognizable. The story of the Penguin results in a gangster, Scorsese-esque show, with little to do with any superhero vibes. (A little like the gritty origin story of another Batman villain.) Cristin Milioti does not get a title card, but she does get a lot of airtime as rival gangster girlie Sofia Falcone, and sheā€™s serving. When she smears blood on her chest? Now thatā€™s the slay stuff.

Whoā€™s in the cast?

Farrell will return as the Penguin, and Milioti is playing Sofia Falcone. Per Deadline, Clancy Brown will recur as rival mob boss Salvatore Maroni, while Variety reports that Michael Zegen will play Sofiaā€™s brother, Alberto Falcone. Michael Kelly confirmed to The Wrap that he will round out the Falcone crime family as underboss Johnny Vitti. Marvelā€™s Runaways star Rhenzy Feliz will join the DC Universe in a currently unnamed role. The only other cast members that have been announced so far are Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre Oā€™Connell, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Theo Rossi, Carmen Ejogo, FranƧois Chau, David H. Holmes, Craig Walker, and Jared Abarahmson ā€”Ā all playing yet-to-be-revealed characters. However, it seems altogether possible that John Turturro, who played Carmine Falcone in The Batman, could be back, or even Kravitz as Selina Kyle.

Whenā€™s it coming out?

The June 20 trailer narrowed the date down to September 2024. Any further information is currently a riddle (Paul Danoā€™s version).

This post has been updated.

Maxā€™s The Penguin Rises