In a new interview, Colin Farrell teased a violent power struggle for control of Gotham City in the upcoming The Penguin series on Max.
While promoting his new AppleTV+ series Sugar in an interview with HeyUGuys, Farrell shared what will make The Penguin a different kind of animal than what DC fans witnessed in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. “Tons of violence, abject darkness and a man and a great struggle to try and claw his way to the top,” Farrell said.
“You know, there’s a power grab in Gotham now. It’s dark, man. Lauren LeFranc with her room of writers wrote eight extraordinary episodes. I mean, just really, really bold stuff. I couldn’t believe that it got as dark as it gets… It would be a Hard R [rating].”
Farrell previously confirmed that The Penguin series takes place a week after the events of The Batman when the murder of crime boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) creates a ripple effect across Gotham. “It’s one man’s rise to what he’s always dreamed of inhabiting, which is a certain power or social status,” Farrell said. “And, you know, the death of Carmine Falcone at the end of [The Batman] leaves this vacuum in Gotham to be filled, and so there are various people that are grabbing for that power, and this is Oswald’s journey trying to rise to the top through extraordinary obstacles. And it’s super dark. [Series creator] Lauren LeFranc wrote an incredibly twisted eight hours of television.”
Who else appears in The Penguin?
Farrell reprises the role of Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot from Reeves’ 2022 blockbuster. He will be joined by Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) as Sofia Falcone, Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Alberto Falcone, and Clancy Brown (Gen V) as Salvatore Maroni. Not confirmed to appear in the series is The Batman star Robert Pattinson who is awaiting the start of production on The Batman: Part II which is scheduled for release on October 2, 2026.
The Penguin is slated to premiere on Max in the fall of 2024.
