How Much The Batman Director is Involved With Penguin Spinoff Show

Colin Farrell explains Matt Reeves’ involvement in The Batman spinoff show, The Penguin. Reeves delivered a deliciously grim and noir take on the Caped Crusader’s story with The Batman, which saw Twilight star Robert Pattinson transform into the titular Bruce Wayne. The movie explored Batman’s early career as a vigilante, following him as he uncovered the corruption in Gotham City. While Pattison proved to be a hit, several of The Batman‘s other characters, including Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle/ Catwoman, Paul Dano’s Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright’s James Gordon, and Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth, also gained widespread acclaim and recognition. But the actor who stood out the most was Farrell, whose steal-scening turn as The Penguin earned him rave reviews.

Rumblings of a spinoff show centered on Farrell’s villain had begun even before The Batman hit theaters, but the show wasn’t officially announced until HBO Max handed out a series order to The Penguin in March 2022. Set both before and after the events of Reeves’ The Batman, The Penguin reportedly charts Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot’s rise to power as Gotham’s criminal overlord. The show draws inspiration from classic gangster thrillers like The Long Good Friday and Scarface. And it seemingly explains how Oz/The Penguin took advantage of the anarchy in Gotham after Carmine Falcone’s (John Turturro) death to establish his own crime syndicate. Lauren LeFranc serves as the showrunner on The Penguin, with Reeves, Farrell, and Dylan Clark executive producing.

Now, in a new interview with ET, Farrell elaborated on the scope of Reeves’ involvement in The Penguin spinoff series. As the actor reveals, Reeves won’t direct the episodes for the new show, but he remains involved in a prominent creative capacity. Reeves is assisting with the framework and writing for The Penguin, and he also has a say in who will helm the spinoff show. Read what Farrell said below.

“He’s so obsessive about what he does, but he’s all over [HBO Max’s] The Penguin [series] as well. I mean, he’s not gonna direct it but he’s all over the structure of the scripts and who’s gonna direct them. And so, it’s exciting.”

One thing that can be discerned from Reeves’ association with The Penguin is that the show is in the early stages of development. Since Reeves is still helping the showrunner organize the scripts and hire directors, the series probably needs some time before it can complete pre-production and assemble its core creative team. Once that part is done, the EPs may proceed with the castings, getting new and old actors on boards to tell Penguin’s story. Some reports suggest that The Penguin could begin filming in February 2023, but that cannot be verified until WB and DC offer an official confirmation.

The capacity and extent of Reeves’ attachment to The Penguin are seemingly proportionate and sensible. Since the filmmaker is also working on The Batman 2, he is probably too busy to direct all the episodes for the spinoff. And even if he had the time for the job, getting him to helm a comparatively independent story could result in a repetitive cinematic style and lack of originality. As long as Reeves oversees the creative process from a relative distance, it can be guaranteed that The Penguin honors his Batman franchise, and at the same time, gets the opportunity to become its own thing and a subversive crime-tinged superhero showcase in its own right. The scope of Reeves’ involvement in The Penguin balances familiarity with novelty, and this equilibrium is exactly what is needed for the show to become a huge success.