Colin Farrell returns as Oz Cobb in a new trailer for The Penguin, the first DC TV spinoff show in the Batman universe. The show, set to begin shortly after the events of The Batman. The Penguin TV show was promoted at the Series Mania TV festival in Lille, France, as Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to rebrand HBO Max into Max in selected European countries. The new trailer is now available online, showcasing more of the upcoming Batman spinoff show.
The Penguin is often depicted in comic books with his trademark top hat, monocle and cigarette, but Farrell’s portrayal of him does not smoke. Farrell said that he “fought valiantly” for his pre-Penguin Oswald to smoke in The Batman but the studio turned down such a request just like Disney disallowed Emma Stone from smoking to play Cruella in its live-action movie.
Colin Farrell Once Revealed that He Fought with Warner Bros.
Colin Farrell as Penguin. Image Credit: Warner Bros.
In 2022, during an interview with the YouTube channel Jake’s Takes, Colin Farrell revealed that he repeatedly asked Warner Bros. to let his character smoke cigars, but the studio would not relent.
“Big studios make big decisions around such things as the presence of cigarettes in films,” Farrell said.
“I fought valiantly for a cigar. At one stage I said, ‘I can have it unlit! Just let me have it unlit.’ They were like, ‘No.’ [As if] a bunch of 12-year-olds are going to start smoking Cuban cigars because [the Penguin is smoking cigars in a movie.]”
Farrell appears as Oswald/Penguin under prosthetics that made the actor appear unrecognizable. In an interview with Collider, the actor revealed that he tested out the prosthetics’ effectiveness ahead of filming by going to a local Starbucks in character
“The first day we tried the whole thing out, we took it for a drive — a spin, metaphorically speaking,” Farrell said.
“We did it in Burbank. It took about six or eight hours. It was a team of 10 or 15 people. And it was really fun. I went into Starbucks and ordered myself a very un-Oswald drink, an oat milk latte with two stevia sweeteners. I got a couple of stares but only because it’s such an imposing look. [Designer] Mike Marino did so much of the work for me on this, so much of the heavy lifting.”
Emma Stone also had to deal with a similar smoking ban while making Cruella. Disney put a ban on smoking in all of its films in as early as 2007, then extended the ban to all Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar offerings in 2015.
“That is not allowed in 2021,” Stone told The New York Times after the publication noted that her iteration of Cruella is a non-smoker.
“We are not allowed to smoke onscreen in a Disney film. It was difficult to not have that cigarette holder…I was so excited to have that green plume of smoke in there, but it was not possible. I don’t want to promote smoking, but I’m also not trying to promote skinning puppies.”
Max Released the First Trailer for The Penguin
Screengrab the official teaser of The Penguin. Image Credit: Max
Oz Cobb’s rise to the top may be deterred by a new trailer for The Penguin, set to release in 2024. The trailer features Colin Farrell as ruthless criminal underworld lord, and the eight-part solo spin-off series will begin Matt Reeves’s Bat-verse on streamer and set up the story of The Batman – Part II, set to release in 2026.
The Penguin, executive-produced by Reeves and Dylan Clark, offers a street-level view of Gotham City and its criminals following The Batman. Oz, the right-hand man of Carmine Falcone, sees an opportunity to build an empire in the rubble of his former boss’s domain. The trailer shows how Oz will begin his ascent into the criminal kingpin Batman, overcoming obstacles through cunning and strong-arming to finally get his way.
Reeves’s portrayal of the Batman universe, particularly Oz, is more frightening than other cartoonishly evil versions. He aims to create a story closer to Scarface, blending the gritty tone of the film with a deeper look into Gotham’s criminal underworld. The new footage showcases the city’s bleaker Gotham and its crooked characters.
The Penguin slated to arrive sometime in Fall 2024.
Check out the trailer of The Penguin below-
