‘Caped Crusader’ Reveals Minnie Driver as a Gender-Swapped Penguin

Minnie Driver takes on an iconic Batman villain, but in a slightly unusual twist.

She will voice Oswald Cobblepot, the female interpretation of the Penguin, in the upcoming animated series “Batman: Caped Crusader” on Prime Video.

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The news was revealed during Saturday’s San Diego Comic-Con panel at the highly anticipated screening, which began with a video message from executive producer Bruce Timm, who greeted fans before the world premiere of the first episode, in which Driver’s Penguin was first introduced.

Following the screening, executive producer Matt Reeves and the series’ voice cast, including Driver, Hamish Linklater as Batman and Jamie Chung as Harley Quinn, engaged in a lively conversation about the series and their roles.

Driver acknowledged that some purists might have a problem with the female Cobblepot, but insists that the character still brings the essence of The Penguin. “If we’re lucky enough to be invited on stage to play these characters that already exist in the ether, we just soar to meet them. And it was such a beautiful telling of that villainess. It was joyful. And, I mean, she’s awful.”

Prime Video gave fans a sneak peek at the series on Friday, revealing an exclusive new clip at the end of a panel dedicated to favorite adult animated series, including Invincible and The Legend of Vox Machina.

The voice cast also 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 new interpretation of the Batman mythology from executive producers Reeves, JJ 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 watch on Prime Video on August 1.

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