The Batman sequel series gets R-rating, delighting fans

Heads up, DC fans - Gotham is about to get darker than ever before, as it’s been confirmed that the upcoming Max (formerly HBO Max) series, The Penguin, has been given a TV-MA rating (the TV equivalent of an R-rating).

Before we get into what that rating means for the series, let’s rewind. The Penguin is an eight-episode TV series centred around - you guessed it - The Penguin, in a story set just one week after the events of The Batman. Colin Farrell is reprising his role as the titular crime lord, but it’s not yet been confirmed if Robert Pattinson will appear as the Caped Crusader. Other cast members include Deirdre O’Connell, Rhenzy Feliz, Cristin Milioti, Clancy Brown, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Michael Zegen.

Take a look at the trailer for The Penguin below.

Back to that R-rating though, and as LADbible reports, it certainly implies that there could be a lot of violent and potentially gruesome content. That, or everyone is going to be very foul-mouthed. Perhaps even both? The key thing to keep in mind here is that although The Batman was supposed to provide a grittier take on Gotham, it was still only rated PG-13, so the film didn’t really end up giving us the mature, adult Batman that many were probably expecting prior to its release. Batman doesn’t necessarily need to be dark to be fantastic, of course, but it’ll be interesting to see the series take a slightly different direction in this regard.

For comparison, HBO show The Last of Us was also rated TV-MA, and we all know how violent that got at times. That doesn’t necessarily mean The Penguin will follow in its footsteps, but it definitely could.

We still have quite a wait ahead of us before The Penguin hits screens - it’s on track to release in 2024, although we don’t currently know exactly when.