The Batman was released to glowing reviews in 2022 and, while it could have easily been a standalone movie similar to Joker, Warner Bros. wasted no time in enlisting filmmaker Matt Reeves for a sequel.
Rumours of a second and third movie shooting back have proven false, but The Penguin is still on track to be released later this year. The Max series will bridge the gap between The Batman and The Batman II, chronicling Ozwald Cobblepot's rise to Gotham City Kingpin.
While we've previously been told that The Penguin will launch on the streamer this "fall," the official premiere month has just been shared by Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content.
"One of the advantages that I think we have as a company, putting aside HBO for a second, is all the Warner Bros. IP. So after 'House of the Dragon,' the next big tentpole series that we have coming up will be the 'Penguin' with Colin Farrell," he tells Variety. "That is coming out of Matt Reeves' 'The Batman' and it’s fantastic."
"Just like 'Peacemaker' came out of James Gunn's 'Suicide Squad,' it’s a really good example of what you can do. That"ll be in September."
So, September it is! Hopefully, we'll get a specific date sooner rather than later.
Bloys also hyped up some of Max's other upcoming offerings. "I don’t know if we landed on a date yet, but later in the fall we’ll have the 'Dune' prequel series that is about the origins of the Bene Gesserit. And then going into ’'5, we will have Stephen King's 'It.'"
"Warner Bros. has done two films - we’ve got a prequel series of that planned as well. And then obviously, the 'Harry Potter' series, further down the line. We’re still in the process of working with writers on their takes."
"There are other properties like 'The Conjuring,' which is a big movie franchise that we’re developing into a series, as well as 'Crazy Rich Asians.' We’re developing in DC, the 'Green Lantern" property, as a series as well," the executive concluded.
The Penguin stars Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O'Connell, Clancy Brown, Michael Zegen, Theo Rossi, and Mark Strong.
The series is executive produced by Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, Lauren LeFranc, who writes and serves as showrunner, Craig Zobel, who directs the first three episodes, and Bill Carraro.
Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, The Penguin is produced by Reeves' 6th & Idaho Productions and Dylan Clark Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Reeves and 6th & Idaho are under an overall deal. Daniel Pipski also serves as executive producer.
The Batman spin-off will premiere on Max this fall September.