Filming on “The Penguin,” HBO Max‘s first series spinoff of Matt Reeves‘ “The Batman” got underway in New York City last month, with set footage of star Colin Farrell back in full Oz makeup on the street making the rounds online. The series focuses on the power vacuum in Gotham’s criminal underworld after the events of Reeves’ film and The Penguin’s rise to power. That means there are plenty of mobster roles to fill, and now a few more names are attached to the series to play those characters.
According to Deadline, actor Theo Rossi (“Emily The Criminal“) joins Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Clancy Brown (“John Wick 4“) as part of “The Penguin” cast. Rossi’s role in the DC Comics project remains unknown, but Brown plays the key part of the Gotham mob figure Sal Maroni. A popular gangster in DC Comics, Eric Roberts played Maroni in Chrisopher Nolan‘s massive hit, “The Dark Knight.”
But Rossi isn’t the only new addition to “The Penguin,” as Variety has another casting report adds actors Michael Zegen (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel“), James Madio (“Band of Brothers“), and Scott Cohen to the call sheet. Zegen will play Alberto Falcone, the brother of Milioti’s Sofia Falcone and son of John Turturro‘s late Gotham crime kingpin Carmine Falcone from “The Batman.” Spoiler alert for non-comics readers: Alberto is The Holiday Killer in the legendary “The Long Halloween” storyline, who kills multiple mobsters on various holidays. But at this point, it’s unclear if “The Penguin” will pay homage to Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale‘s limited comics series from the late ’90s. Or do something completely original with the character.
Also of note about “The Penguin”: “Mare of Easttown” director Craig Zobel directs the first three of the show’s eight episodes, and Lauren LeFranc serves as the showrunner.
“The Penguin” will debut on HBO Max ahead of the release of “The Batman Part II” in 2025, and the show’s storyline will lead directly into the feature film sequel. However, given its current release date, don’t expect Reeves’ sequel to start shooting until next year. While “The Penguin” further explores the Gotham underworld and Oz’s rise in it, we’re not so sure if Farrell’s character is the sequel’s big bad. No doubt he’ll have a major role in “The Batman Part II,” and we’ll have to wait if other Batman rogues are introduced in the series leading up the next film.
