Credit: DC / Warner Bros.You can now watch the new Penguin series online.
While it will be some time before we’re reunited with the world created in Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022), which stars Robert Pattinson in the title role, it has now been confirmed that several spinoffs in addition to the upcoming theatrical movie sequel are in the works.
Matt Reeves and producing partner Dylan Clark recently confirmed (via Entertainment Weekly) that their DC franchise has been officially dubbed “The Batman Epic Crime Saga”, which will include several television shows and movies off the back of the 2022 film.
But while one of those projects has now been canceled (a TV series that would have focused on Arkham Asylum and the Gotham City Police Department), the upcoming HBO series The Penguin (2024) will pave the way for those other yet-to-be-titled The Batman spinoffs.
Matt Reeves’ The Penguin Series
The Penguin will invite fans back into the dark, grimy, and brooding Gotham City created by Matt Reeves, with Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot/The Penguin, a transformation that renders the world-famous Irish actor completely unrecognizable.
The eight-part series takes place one week after the film, focusing on the titular Gotham City gangster as he fills the criminal underworld’s “power vacuum” left by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), who was killed by Edward Nash/The Riddler (Paul Dano) in the film.
Watch the trailer below, per Max:
The upcoming spinoff will “bridge the gap” between the film and the upcoming sequel, lead writer and showrunner Lauren LeFranc told EW. “We are the bridge between the two films,” she said, “We’re going almost directly into the second film Matt [Reeves] has planned.”
While no other actors from the film are expected to appear in the series, The Penguin does bring back The Batman director Matt Reeves, this time as executive producer. But he’s also the executive producer on another Penguin series that has just landed on Prime Video.
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From Bruce Timm, the creator behind the celebrated classic Batman: The Animated Series (1992 — 1995), comes Batman: Caped Crusader (2024), a brand-new animated series that gives us a “brave” and “bold” (pun intended) new version of the iconic Gotham gangster.
Per Prime Video, the synopsis reads:
“Welcome to Gotham City, where criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the BATMAN. His one-man crusade for justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.”
While the show adopts a very similar style of animation to its ’90s predecessor, this depiction of Gotham City takes place in the 1940s, freeing Bruce Wayne/Batman and his foes from modern and futuristic tech we’ve become so used to seeing them wield.
Meanwhile, significant changes have been made to iconic Batman characters — including The Dark Knight himself. But there’s one character who has undergone a pretty major transformation, and some fans aren’t happy. Watch the trailer below, per Prime Video:
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The New Penguin
Batman: Caped Crusader stars Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Christina Ricci (Wednesday) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Jamie Chung (Big Hero 6) as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, Diedrich Bader (Napoleon Dynamite) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and Eric Morgan Stuart as Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon.
While Batman and Harley Quinn, in particular, aren’t your usual Caped Crusader and Clown Princess of Gotham (Bruce Wayne really is the “mask” while Harley is a far more reserved version of the psychotic jester), it’s The Penguin who’s been given a full makeover. This time, Good Will Hunting‘s Minnie Driver takes the reins, giving us Oswalda Cobblepot.
Check out Minnie Driver’s new Penguin shared by DiscussingFilm on X (Twitter) below:
The Penguin will be a woman in ‘BATMAN CAPED CRUSADER’ She is named Oswalda Cobblepot and voiced by Minnie Driver.
The Penguin will be a woman in ‘BATMAN CAPED CRUSADER’
She is named Oswalda Cobblepot and voiced by Minnie Driver. pic.twitter.com/C778tqnUmk
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 27, 2024
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The series has already faced backlash from fans for making the beloved Rogues Gallery villain female, with some labeling it as being “woke”. However, Oswalda is otherwise really no different to previous iterations. Though slightly more ruthless (one of her first actions in the show is pretty shocking), she still has the iconic top-hat, monocle, tailcoat, and umbrella.
She makes her first appearance in Episode 1 “In Treacherous Waters”. While the upcoming live-action series The Penguin will find Oswald (Colin Farrell) operating from “The Iceberg Lounge” as seen in 2022’s The Batman, the new animated series places Cobblepot’s club in a more appropriate setting: on Gotham City’s East-Side river (which is pretty genius).
The Penguin will premiere on HBO on September 19. It will consist of eight episodes.
All 10 episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader are streaming on Prime Video now.
Caped Crusader also stars McKenna Grace as Natalia Night/Nocturna, Tom Kenny as Firebug, Toby Stephens as Gentleman Ghost, Reid Scott as Onomatopoeia, Dan Donohue as Clayface, John DiMaggio as Harvey Bullock, Michelle C Bonilla as Renee Montoya, Jason Watkins as Alfred Pennyworth, and Bumper Robinson as Lucius Fox.
Will you be watching Batman: Caped Crusader? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!