At Warner Bros. Discovery they are fed up with the fact that, while Disney finds a thousand and one ways to exploit its intellectual properties, with expanded universes in film and television of both Star Wars and Marvel, they had problems even creating a universe with the superheroes of DC Comics. Now, however, they are trying to find their way to squeeze out their most recognizable characters and successful titles. As? With complementary series of his films with a more commercial profile. The first to arrive will be The Penguin, the television spin-off of Matt Reeves’ Batman with Robert Pattinson.
The project was discussed for the first time in September 2021. The Batman had not even been released, which hit theaters in March 2022, where it grossed $772 million with a mix between superhero movies and thrillers. from the end of the 20th century. Luckily, once Lauren LeFranc showed Warner Bros how she could exploit the DC Comics villain, the series was greenlit with an eight-episode first season.
As we said, Lauren LeFranc was hired as showrunner. This won’t be her first job with a superhero property: she was a writer and producer on Agents of SHIELD, and she’s also written scripts on shows like Chuck and Impulse. Craig Zobel, director of The Leftovers, American Gods and Westworld, is responsible for laying the visual foundations as director and executive producer. And overseeing the project is Matt Reeves himself to ensure that The Penguin fits in with what was explored in The Batman.
Colin Farrell, who must first premiere Sugar on Apple TV, returns to reprise the character of Oswald Cobblepot, the gangster better known as The Penguin. Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) will play Sofia Falcone, the daughter of the former boss of Oz who wants to continue Gotham’s monopoly on power. In supporting roles, Rhenzy Feliz (Runaways), Michael Kelly (House of Cards), Deirdre O’Connell (Outer Range), Carmen Ejogo (Your Honor), Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog) ).
The first teaser to whet your appetite serves to understand the plot of The Penguin. In the images an unrecognizable Colin Farrell appears explaining how, when he was little, there was a gangster in the neighborhood. He helped people if he saw you in trouble. And, when he died, a huge number of people mourned his death and paid respect to him. His goal, therefore, is to follow in his footsteps: to help, to be feared, to be respected.
At the moment, the content platform Max announces the project for autumn. It will be the first of three series created from successful films. Also underway is Welcome to Derry, a prequel to Stephen King’s clown It films, which will be seen in 2025; and also expected next year is Dune: The sisterhood, a prequel set 10,000 years before the events that occurred in Denis Villeneuve’s films with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
