Of all the unsure futures for DC properties and projects once WB and Discovery merged, and DC Studios rebooted their universe, the one I most wanted to continue was Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The big hit movie with a singularly grimy take on Gotham City already had a sequel and a spinoff series in the works. Neither, thankfully, faced the scrap pile, and indeed that spinoff series, The Penguin, is exceedingly close to debuting. With Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb vying for power in Gotham’s criminal underworld, gangsters and goons are bound to clash.
During the Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Farrell (via pre-recorded video) introduced the full trailer for The Penguin. We get to see just how seedy the gang war is in Gotham. Penguin tries to take over the drugs trade in the city, assuming control of the family after Carmine Falcone’s death. However, Falcone’s daughter, Sofia, arrives to assert her own authority after a stint in Arkham Asylum. If she thinks she’s rehabilitating, I’d hate to see the way she was before.
At one point we hear that Sofia was “the Hangman.” While we don’t know what that means in the context of the series, the Hangman in DC Comics is a thing. Sofia Falcone first appeared in The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. By the time of the follow-up series Dark Victory, she assumes the mantle of the serial killer, the Hangman. Her targets were anyone associated with her father’s death. So…great!
Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark refer to their Gotham City universe as “The Batman Epic Crime Saga,” outside of any other DC universe. In addition to Farrell, The Penguin stars Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone; Michael Zegan as Alberto Falcone; Michael Kelly as Johnny Vitti; and mother-effing Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni.
The Penguin premieres September 19.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
