The long wait for The Batman Part II was made a little easier when TV spinoff The Penguin premiered. Continuing the story of the Batman Epic Crime Saga, the series followed Oz Cobb as he attempted to rise up the ranks in Gotham’s criminal underworld in the aftermath of the Riddler’s devastating attacks. The Penguin earned widespread critical acclaim, earning 24 Emmy nominations (including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series). Given how successful the show was, many would be interested in seeing it renewed for a second season. Unfortunately, if The Penguin Season 2 were to happen, fans would have to wait a while to see it.
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc reiterated the show was conceived as a limited series, meaning a second season is not guaranteed. She added that if The Penguin Season 2 gets the green light, it couldn’t premiere until after The Batman Part II has come out. “The intention of our first season always was, we’re launching Oz into the second film, and so we couldn’t air a second season until after [Matt Reeves’] movie comes out,” LeFranc said.
The Batman Part II is the Top Priority for Matt Reeves
The Penguin was always meant to be the bridge between Reeves’ first two Batman films, which is how LeFranc herself described the show months before it premiered. “We’re going almost directly into the second film Matt has planned,” she said at the time. With this in mind, it isn’t surprising to see the creative team is sticking to their guns and focusing on The Batman Part II for the time being. It’s expected Colin Farrell will reprise Oz Cobb in the highly anticipated sequel, so how his story unfolds in the movie will dictate what happens with The Penguin.
After The Penguin became a critical darling, it might have been tempting for Reeves and LeFranc to pivot to a second season while the iron was red hot. However, most fans would be in agreement that The Batman Part II has been delayed long enough. The movie won’t hit theaters until October 2027, more than five years after its predecessor. If LeFranc and Co. moved forward on a Penguin Season 2 now, it might have required The Batman Part II to be pushed back even further. That would have been very disappointing, as fans are eager to see Robert Pattinson’s Batman return on the big screen.
The character of Batman has also become a problem at DC Studios. Reeves’ franchise is set in its own continuity separate from the DC Universe. While he’s working on The Batman Part II, DC Studios co-head James Gunn is overseeing the development of The Brave and the Bold, a Batman feature that will take place in the DCU. Gunn maintains an Elseworlds-style strategy can work and there’s a place for both films, but it would make everyone’s lives easier if Reeves finishes his Batman series sooner rather than later. Reeves plans on making a third Batman movie, so it’s imperative to get the second film off the ground in the near future.
Fortunately, that’s what’s happening. Reeves and his co-writer Mattson Tomlin finished The Batman Part II‘s script earlier this summer, and now the movie is making its way through pre-production. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has already confirmed The Batman 2 starts filming in the spring, so there hopefully won’t be further delays. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s room (or a story) for The Penguin Season 2 after the movie releases. If there isn’t, at least LeFranc and Reeves left their mark on the small screen with a truly compelling limited series.
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