Did The Penguin Just Set Up Dick Grayson’s Introduction in The Batman Part II?

The second episode of The Penguin debuted on HBO and Max on Sunday, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference may have teased another DC character’s debut. Spoilers for the second episode of The Penguin lurk below! Only look if you want to know! Part of the episode concerns criminal dealings in one of Gotham’s lesser-known neighborhoods, as Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) tries to steal drugs for the benefit of Salvatore Maroni’s (Clancy Brown) massive drug empire. More specifically, the ordeal takes place in a neighborhood named Robbinsville — a section of the city that has only sporadically factored into the comics and several episodes of Fox’s Gotham television show. 

While the spelling of Robbinsville is named after Batman and Detective Comics comic creator Frank Robbins, the moniker also raises a unique possibility — that it could have a connection to a young Dick Grayson potentially becoming Robin at a later point in The Batman saga. Depending on how the franchise’s creative team might approach introducing the young ward into the life of Bruce Wayne / Batman (Robert Pattinson), it could use the neighborhood of Robbinsville as partial inspiration for the “Robin” code name, depending on Dick’s connection to the city.

Will Dick Grayson Appear in The Batman Part II?

At the moment, there is no confirmation that Dick Grayson will play a role in 2026’s The Batman Part II or other parts of the onscreen saga — but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating on the topic. 2022’s The Batman already had a prevailing theory that the son of deceased mayor Don Mitchell Jr. would eventually become Robin, after he wore a red ninja costume in the film’s opening scene, and shared a few knowing moments of eye contact with Batman throughout the film.

“Interesting. Um, no,” Reeves told CinemaBlend at the time. “But do you know what? It’s a cool idea. It wasn’t the intention! But actually… why would I say that? Why would I… because it’s a cool idea.” 

What Is The Penguin About?

The Penguin is the next chapter in The Batman saga from Matt Reeves.The series stars Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb, Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, Michael Kelly as Johnny Viti, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni, Deirdre O’Connell as Francis Cobb, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, James Madio as Milos Grapa, Scott Cohen as Luca Falcone, Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone, Carmen Ejogo as Eve Karlo, and Theo Rossi as Dr. Julian Rush.

New episodes of The Penguin premiere on both HBO and Max every Sunday night.