Colin Farrell transforms into the new kingpin of Gotham in ‘The Penguin’ first-look trailer

The past year has been an incredible one for Colin Farrell, as in addition to his awards-magnet performances in The Banshees of Inisherin, the Irish star handed in a transformative turn in DC blockbuster The Batman, in which he went totally unrecognizable as legendary comic book villain the Penguin. Now he’s back as Oswald Cobblepot in the crime boss’ very own TV series, which has just released its first-look, in-production teaser trailer (catch it above).

Following on from the death of Carmine Falcone in The Batman, The Penguin “continues the epic crime saga” as Cobblepot fights to assume the dead mobster’s command of the Gotham City underworld. No doubt opposing him will be Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone and Clancy Brown’s Sal Maroni, both characters familiar to DC Comics readers. Other cast members include Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Theo Rossi, and Carmen Ejogo.

This thrilling initial glimpse at the series, which comes from executive producer Matt Reeves, was released as part of a major press event for the Warner Bros. streaming service formally known as HBO Max, but which will now simply be known as Max from May 23 onward. The Penguin is only one of several DC series headed to HBO Max, including James Gunn’s Creature Commandos animated series, which just unveiled its star-studded full cast.

The eight-part Penguin series is similarly just the beginning of Reeves’ ambitious plans for the so-called Batverse, which exists apart from Gunn’s own plans to reboot the DCU. Also on the docket is The Batman – Part 2, set to arrive in theaters in October 2025, as well as an Arkham Asylum spinoff series and perhaps even a solo vehicle for Clayface. The Penguin has yet to be given a release date of its own, but with filming underway, some time in early 2024 seems plausible.