This month we’re returning to the dark and dangerous streets of Gotham in The Penguin. A sequel series to 2022’s The Batman, The Penguin sees Colin Farrell and a truckload of prosthetics return to tell the story of Oz Cobb’s bloody rise to power following the assassination of crime lord Carmine Falcone.
Set across eight episodes, The Penguin dives deeper into Gotham’s criminal underworld than ever before to introduce Falcone’s deadly children, including Cristin Milioti’s Sofia – otherwise known as serial killer The Hangman – rival crime family the Maronis and a wild card in the shape of Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor Aguilar, who becomes something of a protege to Oz.
If The Batman was a detective noir, The Penguin marks a shift into gangster noir territory. But it’s also a rich character study for one of Batman’s legendary rogues, exploring Cobb’s complicated relationship with his mother. Most excitingly of all, it’ll fill in the blanks between The Batman and its 2026 sequel The Batman Part II – essential viewing then if you want to be up to speed when Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight returns.
The Penguin is on the cover of the upcoming issue of Total Film magazine (on sale Thursday 12 September), and inside there’s an in-depth making-of feature including new interviews with Farrell, Milioti, executive producer Matt Reeves, showrunner Lauren LeFranc and more. Here (and above) you can take an exclusive look at some new images from the upcoming issue.
Inside the issue, Farrell tells us about how he’s never been to a darker place with a character, how he really feels about the toll of that extraordinary transformation and teases his return in The Batman Part II. Plus, showrunner LeFranc details how they built out the underworld of Gotham, while Reeves gives a definitive answer on whether or not we’ll see Robert Pattinson’s Batman in the show.
The Penguin releases on Sky and streaming service Now in the UK from 19 September, and on HBO and streaming service Max in the USA. For much more on the series, don’t miss the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday 12 September. Check out the covers below, and look out for much more on The Penguin over the coming days.
You can also check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows on the way.
