HBO Max's The Batman spinoff series, based on Colin Farrell's The Penguin, has debuted its first footage and teaser trailer.
The preview was revealed during the HBO Max presentation introducing its new subscription service, simply titled Max, which combines the HBO Max and Discovery+ services.
*Spoilers for The Batman to follow - turn back now if you aren't caught up!*
The Penguin series serves as a direct sequel to the 2022 film The Batman. In that movie, Paul Dano's The Riddler kills one of Gotham City's most powerful mob bosses, Carmine Falcone, and floods the city. Farrell's Penguin finds an opportunity to use the power vacuum to his advantage.
In today's teaser, Farrell goes full mob boss, saying things like, "If you step out of line even once, I'll gut you like a goddamn fish" with a decidedly Tony Montana-like cadence and gunning people down while laughing maniacally. His performance is equal parts captivating and terrifying, and it should be interesting to see the depths of the character's depravity fully explored now that The Penguin has his own series.
The Penguin, whose first season will run eight episodes when it premieres sometime in 2024, also stars Cristin Milioti as Carmine's daughter Sofia Falcone, Michael Zegen as Carmine's son Alberto Falcone, and Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, another former Gotham City gangster. Craig Zobel, the director behind the limited series The Mare of Easttown, will helm The Penguin.
The Batman director Matt Reeves has suggested that The Penguin will set up The Batman 2.
Here are all of the new TV shows coming your way in 2023 and beyond, and here's what you should be streaming this weekend across Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney Plus.
