The Penguin HBO Max Series Adds 3 To Cast

Now in its second month of production, HBO Max’s The Penguin, a TV drama set in the world of Matt Reeves’s The Batman, has added three more cast members. The series has reportedly has cast Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, and David H. Holmes in recurring roles. According to Variety, who first announced the casting, “character details for Ejogo, Chau, and Holmes are being kept under wraps.” It is not immediately clear whether any major additions to the series’ cast will also be expected to pop up in Reeve’s The Batman sequel, which has yet to begin production.

Not much is known about the story for The Penguin yet, but word has it that Michae Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) will be playing the role of Alberto Falcone, also known in the comics as the Holiday Killer. That character was previously played by The Boys‘s Jack Quaid in the animated Batman: The Long Halloween movie.

“The Penguin show is dark, but I’ve just got such license to explore in it, and such a freedom beneath the makeup,” Farrell recently told Gold Derby. “There’s some kind of permission you’re given to explore in a way that’s hard to give yourself when it’s just your visage, you know? So I’m super excited about it.”

“Matt is working on Batman 2, which he thinks of it as a Batman crime saga, which also includes the Penguin TV series,” DC Studios chief James Gunn recently explained. “And it is its own thing, and he’s hard at work on that. He came in and pitched us some amazing, really cool stuff the other day. Our plan is for that to continue.”

Lauren LeFranc (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Impulse) serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner for the series, which will be executive produced by Reeves and Dylan Clark. The eight-episode series is expected to take place in the immediate aftermath of The Batman, likely bridging the gap between movies. Craig Zobel (Hunt) is executive producing and directing the first three episodes

Also joining Farrell in The Penguin are Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother), Zegen, James Madio (The Offer), Scott Cohen (Gilmore Girls), Michael Kelly (Jack Ryan), Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse), Deirdre O’Connell (Outer Range), and Rhenzy Feliz (Runaways). There is no known release date for the series yet.