Everything We Know About HBO Series 'The Penguin'

HBO's upcoming series The Penguin, a spin-off of 2022'sThe Batman, will bring its MVP Oswald Cobblepot back to the streets of Gotham City. And after his jowl-wobbling supporting role to Robert Pattinson in the cape and cowl, a lot of people are getting excited to see him and his thinning pate again.

This is everything we know so far about what to expect. Fingers crossed for more foul-mouthed Spanish lessons.

What is The Penguin?

The Penguin will follow Cobblepot, played by Colin Farrell, as he scraps his way up the ladder of the crime underworld of Gotham, presumably bumping rivals out of the way and trying to stay out of the grip of the law.

"The world that Matt Reeves created for The Batman is one that warrants a deeper gaze through the eyes of Oswald Cobblepot," Farrell said when the series was first announced. "I couldn’t be more excited about continuing this exploration of Oz as he rises through the darkened ranks to become The Penguin. Will be good to get him back on the streets of Gotham for a little madness and a little mayhem."

The Batman director Matt Reeves is returning to direct the first few episodes, and he's added a little more detail. The Penguin is about "continuing Oz’s story as he grabs violently for power in Gotham".

"Colin exploded off the screen as the Penguin in The Batman, and having the chance to thoroughly explore the inner life of that character on HBO Max is an absolute thrill," Reeves added.

Showrunner Lauren LeFranc said she'd been a fan of the Penguin and his crime lord ways for ages. "I am excited and humbled to continue telling stories in the grimy world of Gotham City," she said, "and what better excuse to channel my inner villain than to tell the story of Oswald Cobblepot?"

Who is in The Penguin?

Farrell will disappear back underneath the mountains of latex which turned him into Oswald Cobblepot, and he'll be joined by Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, daughter of the recently deceased crime boss Carmine Falcone.

Variety reported in mid-February that Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Deirdre O’Connell will be involved too, though there's no news on which characters they'll play. You might remember Kelly from Netflix's House of Cards.

The only other confirmed name at this point is Rhenzy Feliz – Camilo Madrigal in Encanto, who does the "seven foot frame, rats along his back" bit – playing a teenager who Oz befriends and uses as a driver.

How does it connect to The Batman?

It's not clear yet when exactly The Penguin will be set. The early noises make it sound rather like a prequel, but Reeves has suggested that it will create a storytelling bridge between The Batman and its sequel.

"There’s actually a whole little fabric of things we’re wanting to do, the way we’re doing with Penguin and how that comes back into how that will lead into the sequel, and what that sequel is going to be," he told Collider.