Craig Zobel Reportedly in Talks to Direct The Penguin Episodes for HBO Max

HBO Max has finally found a director for their upcoming The Batman spin-off series based on Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. the Penguin (Colin Farrell). When we last saw the Penguin, he was stuck in the midst of a murder case Batman (Robert Pattinson) was trying to solve and ended up coming out on top of it all. There’s no word on when The Penguin takes place and no plot details are known at this time, but the series is shaping up to be incredible. We’ve received little to no news about the series other than HBO Max giving it a green light, and now we finally know who will helm the first two episodes as well as serve as the Executive Producer on the series. According to Discussing Film, Craig Zobel is in talks to take the reins on The Penguin with Lauren LeFranc serving as showrunner. 

Zobel is best known for his work on the Emmy Award Winning series Mare of Easttown. The series was nominated for seven Emmys and won three for Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and Lead Actress. The director has also helmed several other projects like Westworld, The Leftovers, and American Gods, so his coming aboard The Penguin should certainly excite fans.

The Batman director Matt Reeves previously announced a spinoff comic book based on the film’s version of Riddler – a comic that will be written by actor Paul Dano himself! The series is titled “Riddler: Year One” and Reeves made the official announcement on social media, with the following tweets: “Paul Dano’s incredible journey with The Riddler isn’t over yet… Unmask his new @DCComics comic book: “Riddler: Year One,” this October and see @TheBatman #OnlyInTheaters now.” When a fan followed by asking if that statement indicated Dano was actually writing the book, Reeves confirmed as much by saying “Yes. Paul Dano wrote it.”

From the initial sound of it, Riddler: Year One will hop back further, to show how forensic accountant Edward Nashton solved the dark puzzle of Gotham City’s corrupt political and elitist hierarchy while also going completely mad in the process. It could be a wonderfully deep and complex character study that also helps flesh out the world of Gotham that Matt Reeves built, with the same Noir tone and themes The Batman went with. Reeves has always been upfront at how much depth Dano added to his role as Riddler – now fans will see for themselves.

Directed by Reeves, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as GCPD’s James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Colin Farrell as Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot. The film is streaming on HBO Max now.

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