The Batman introduces Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobbelpot, but his transformation into The Penguin will be covered in an untitled spinoff series coming to HBO Max. In a lengthy interview with Variety, filmmaker Matt Reeves confirmed that the show about this iconic Batman villain is actually much closer to shooting than the one about the Gotham City Police Department and Arkham Asylum.
However, the idea to explore Oz's transformation into Gotham's crimelord was one Reeves initially suggested to Warner Bros. as the premise of his planned sequel to The Batman.
"And they were like, ‘Oh, we want to do that as a show," the director told the trade.
Reeves is creatively involved with this spinoff, but Lauren LeFranc (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is penning the series. As for whether he could step behind the camera before shooting the Caped Crusader's next solo adventure, he reportedly told the trade that he currently has no idea if he'll helm The Penguin's spinoff or even The Batman 2 (we're guessing the latter is definitely going to happen).
Instead, after spending the past five years developing the World's Greatest Detective's return to the big screen, Reeves looks set to take some well-deserved time off. Selfishly, we can't wait for the next instalment of the franchise, and you can find out why by checking out our spoiler-free review.
We can't blame Reeves for wanting to take a break, especially as news recently broke that the filmmaker has contracted COVID. Needless to say, we send our best wishes for a speedy recovery!