‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Unveils Minnie Driver as Gender-Swapped Penguin
Minnie Driver is taking on an iconic Batman villain, with a twist.
She’ll voice Oswalda Cobblepot, a female interpretation of The Penguin, in Prime Video’s upcoming animated series “Batman: Caped Crusader.”
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The news was revealed during the Saturday San Diego Comic-Con panel for the hotly anticipated show, which started with a video message from executive producer Bruce Timm. He welcomed fans before kicking off the world premiere screening of the first episode, where Driver’s Penguin is unveiled for the first time.
Following the screening, executive producer Matt Reeves and the series’ voice cast, including Driver, Hamish Linklater as Batman and Jamie Chung as Harley Quinn, had a lively conversation about the show and their roles.
Driver acknowledged that some purists may take issue with a female Cobblepot, but she insists that the character still brings the essence of The Penguin. “If we’re lucky enough to be invited onto the stage to inhabit these characters that already exist in the ether, we just sort of rise up to meet them. And this was such a beautiful retelling of that villain. It was joyful. And, I mean, she’s dreadful.”
On Friday, Prime Video gave fans a sneak peek of the show by revealing an exclusive new clip at the end of a panel on the streamer’s adult animation favorites, including “Invincible” and “The Legend of Vox Machina.”
Additional voice cast includes Diedrich Bader, Christina Ricci, Mckenna Grace, Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, Tom Kenny, Jason Watkins, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment and Toby Stephens.
The series is a reimagining of Batman mythology through the lens of executive producers Reeves, J.J. Abrams and Bruce Timm. It hails from Warner Bros. Animation, Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Reeves’ 6th & Idaho. Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich and Sam Register also serve as executive producers.
“Batman: Caped Crusader” will be available to stream on Prime Video beginning Aug. 1.
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