Sons of Anarchy actor Theo Rossi joins the highly anticipated television series based on The Batman supervillain. Under the working title, The Penguin, Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios have tapped Rossi to star in a still-undisclosed role, joining previously announced cast members, including Clancy Brown, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Cristin Milioti, with Colin Farrell—who also played the same villain in the film—in the titular role. While Rossi’s role in the HBO Max series is still unspecified, Deadline reported that the actor will play a key recurring role in the upcoming eight-episode Penguin-centered series.
The Penguin will serve as the continuation of the Matt Reeves-directed DCEU feature, The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader. The 2022 outing offered an edgy spin on the iconic superhero and introduced a different take on the Batman supervillains, most notably the Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot), which—for the longest time—became one of the DCEU’s most successful films to date. Reeves will reportedly be working on several BatVerse stories, with The Penguin giving an in-depth background on the Gotham City mobster.
The 47-year-old actor has an impressive portfolio under his belt, with starring roles in several features, including The Challenge, Cloverfield, The Informers, Army of the Dead, and Bad Hurt, which he also produced. The actor also received an Imagen Award for Best Actor in a Feature Film nomination for the 2017 drama film Lowriders—and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance for his portrayal of Youcef Haddad in the 2022 crime thriller Emily the Criminal, starring Aubrey Plaza as Emily Benetto. On the other hand, Rossi also starred in a number of small screen roles but was best known for his portrayal of Juan Carlos “Juice” Ortiz in Sons of Anarchy and Hernan Alvarez in the 2022 Marvel television series, Luke Cage.
While there is no official synopsis for the series yet, Reeves—who will also executive produce the series—revealed in a previous interview with Collider that the forthcoming series will pick up where The Batman left off, leading directly into the second The Batman tale. Colin will play the infamous villain, with Milioti playing Sofia Falcone. Alongside Reeves in the executive producer’s chair, Farrell, Dylan Clark, and Lauren LeFranc will also executive produce the upcoming series, with Craig Zobel directing the first three episodes.
There are no further details yet about the series, including trailers and a release date. But with the ensemble cast joining the series and Rossi playing a key role, it is expected to be a wild television watch when it premieres on HBO Max. Collider will provide details as soon as new information becomes available. Check out our interview with Farrell discussing the series below:
