The Penguin HBO Max Series Casts Cristin Milioti as Female Lead Opposite Colin Farrell

Made for Love star Cristin Milioti is joining the cast of The Penguin opposite Colin Farrell. The Penguin is the working title for The Batman spinoff from director Matt Reeves and is slated for HBO Max featuring Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot. According to Deadline, Milioti will play Sofia Falcone in The Penguin, who is the daughter of John Turturro's Carmine Falcon in The Batman. Sofia and The Penguin will reportedly be fighting over control of Gotham City in the HBO Max original series. Crystal Reed previously portrayed Sofia on the Fox series Gotham, which was a prequel/origin story for Commissioner Jim Gordon and featured several members of Batman's rogues gallery.

Cristin Milioti currently stars alongside William Jackson Harper in the Peacock comedy series The Resort, which is awaiting a Season 2 renewal. Coincidentally, William Jackson Harper was recently reported to be joining the cast of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, another high-profile comic book property. Harper's role in the Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel is being kept a "closely guarded secret, which has led to fans speculating he's playing Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards.

The Batman Spinoff The Penguin Starring Colin Farrell

News first broke in September 2021 that a spinoff series surrounding The Batman's version of Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin (Colin Farrell), was currently in early development for Warner Bros.' HBO Max streaming service. The series follows Penguin's rise to power in Gotham's criminal underworld. Colin Farrell's involvement in The Penguin was officially confirmed in December 2021. 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.

This Penguin-centric series would mark the second time the character's story is prominently explored in live-action television, after the character was also portrayed by Robin Lord Taylor on Fox's Gotham. The role was also previously played by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns.

"[The Penguin] starts about a week after the film The Batman ends. So Gotham is still somewhat underwater," Farrell revealed to Extra in an interview for his new movie The Banshees of Inisherin. "I read the first script for the first episode, and it opens up with my feet splashing through the water in Falcone's office. Even just that alone, I read it, I was like, 'Oh, jeez.' It's lovely. It's so well-written."

What do you think of the news that Cristin Milioti will play Sofia Falcone on The Penguin? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.