Though The Batman 2 may still be years away, it looks like Colin Farrell will be suiting up for The Penguin early next year.
According to Production Weekly, The Penguin spinoff series will start shooting in New York on Feb. 6, 2023. The project has been in development since late 2021, receiving a full series order from HBO Max in March.
Farrell made his debut as Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot/The Penguin in Matt Reeves' The Batman earlier this year. The actor was praised for his performance in the film, which grossed nearly $800 million at the box office. Farrell has expressed enthusiasm about returning to Gotham for the spinoff ever since. "I couldn't be more excited about continuing this exploration of Oz as he rises through the darkened ranks to become The Penguin," the actor said in March. "Will be good to get him back on the streets of Gotham for a little madness and a little mayhem."
The Penguin Will Return
The end of The Batman primes Cobblepot for a takeover of Gotham's criminal underworld after the death of his late boss, John Turturro's Carmine Falcone. Though it is not yet known whether The Penguin will take place before or after the events of The Batman, producer Dylan Clark compares the spinoff to Scarface, teasing Cobblepot's Tony Montana-esque rise to power. "It's exciting to do something like that just as a standalone," Clark said. "But it speaks to the character and our movie, so that you'll go back to the movie [and say], 'Oh, I see that backstory there, that line refers to this.'"
Joining Clark as an executive producer is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. writer Lauren LeFranc, who also serves as The Penguin's showrunner. Though also attached as an executive producer, Reeves will not direct The Penguin due to his work on The Batman 2. Despite Reeves' absence in the director's chair, Farrell said the filmmaker is "all over the structure of the scripts and who's gonna direct them. And so, it's exciting."
Following a long parade of canceled projects at HBO Max, some worried if Farrell's spinoff was still moving forward. In August, it was reported that Warner Bros. has yet to green light The Batman 2, further putting the sequel and its related projects in doubt. Despite this, the studio confirmed it is still developing The Batman 2 as well as The Penguin and Green Lantern series. HBO Max saved the latter two projects since they follow the streamer's new direction of developing "big, largely IP-based tentpoles."
The Penguin does not yet have a release date but will premiere on HBO Max.
Sources: Production Weekly, via ComicBook.com