GeekTyrant says HBO Max is developing a spinoff series to Matt Reeves’ upcoming film The Batman. According to the article, the show would tell a story about the rise of the Penguin, alias Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, a “dapper mob boss.” Matt Reeves will produce the show alongside Dylan Clark (producer of the new Planet of the Apes trilogy), DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television.
For those of you keeping the score, that’s the second spinoff to The Batman. Last July, HBO Max revealed it was developing a spinoff revolving around Gotham City Police Department. While, in itself, this is a decent idea, the TV show Gotham covered very similar grounds during its five seasons on Fox.
The character of the Penguin will appear in The Batman, where he will be portrayed by Colin Farrell (Fright Night, Horrible Bosses) – presumably, under some heavy-duty prosthetics. Considering the caliber of an actor like Farrell, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll appear in the TV series. But hey, crazier things have happened. As for The Batman, Warner Bros. initially set the film to come out on June 25, 2021. After the pandemic hit, the release date was pushed several times, with the studio currently settled on March 4, 2022.
