Penguin Oswald Cobblepot faces off against Batman in Batman: Caped Crusader. Prime Video

First Look at Minnie Driver as Penguin in BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Kyle Anderson | Last updated Jul 27, 2024 8:37 PM ET

I got the opportunity to watch Batman: Caped Crusader early. While the excitement about a new Batman cartoon would be high enough, a 1940s-styled one from Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves kicked it up four notches. Right away, in the very first episode, we got a sense this show was playing fast and loose with established canon and character norms. The first episode shows us a Gotham underworld terrified of one mobster: the Penguin. This is a Penguin as we’ve never seen before. As you can see in the image below, it’s a gender-swapped Penguin, Oswalda Cobblepot, as voiced by Minnie Driver.

The reveal comes out of the official Batman: Caped Crusader panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Timm introduced a screening of the first episode to the Hall H audience and then brought out executive producer Matt Reeves, Driver, and fellow actors Hamish Linklater (Batman), and Jamie Chung (Dr. Harleen Quinzel).

Prime Video also unveiled a clip from the first episode. While it doesn’t show the Penguin herself, it shows just how terrified she makes the corrupt in Gotham City.

While I can’t say much more about individual episodes, I can share that the season is tremendously good. Other villains are remixed and rethought throughout the season in really fun ways. It feels at once very different from Batman: The Animated Series and clearly from the same creator. Excellent stuff. If the other Penguin TV offering this year is as good, Cobblepot fans will be very happy.

Batman: Caped Crusader drops its entire 10-episode first season on August 1 on Prime Video.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: