According to one high-ranking HBO executive, one The Batman TV sequel is still on the table. Matt Reeves' The Batman wowed audiences back in 2022, debuting his grounded and gritty take on the world of the Dark Knight on the big screen. Reeves would continue this exploration of the Gotham City canon in 2024 with the acclaimed Penguin TV series.
The Penguin, which saw The Batman star Colin Farrell return to reprise his role as the show's titular DC Comics villain, was considered by fans to be a single-season mini-series, with the assumption that there were no further plans for future episodes. That tune has started to change in recent months.
HBO CEO Casey Bloys provided the latest update on a potential The Penguin Season 2 during a recent content update from the premium cable network, revealing that conversations are still ongoing for a second batch of episodes from the Batman spin-off.
As transcribed by Screen Rant, Bloys posited that HBO was in the midst of "talking to the [DC] team" about what a potential Season 2 of The Penguin could look like:
"We are talking to the [DC] team about what a second season of 'The Penguin' could look like."
Since Season 1 came to a close late last year, fans have been on an up-and-down journey with The Penguin Season 2. Shortly after the Season 1 finale aired, showrunner Lauren LeFranc told The Direct that they would revisit the series if they felt "like [they] can top" the first, adding that she would "love" to do a Season 2 if given the chance.
Then, several months later, it seemed as though the team was perhaps moving away from the idea, with DC Studios co-head Peter Safran telling the press in February that they did not know if a second season would happen, citing "there [being] a lot of moving pieces."
No official plans for a Penguin Season 2 have been made public at this time. However, Matt Reeves' pocket of the DC universe is set to continue with the release of The Batman - Part II in 2027.
How Likely Is The Penguin Season 2?
At this point, it feels like only a matter of time before The Penguin Season 2 is officially greenlit. It seems as though HBO wants to make it happen; it is just a matter of getting Colin Farrell on board, as well as the rest of the former Penguin creative team.
Given the response to The Penguin Season 1, a second stab at The Batman TV sequel just makes sense. After being touted as a potential awards winner for months, the HBO series' first season managed to nab nine Primetime Emmys, despite being nominated for a whopping 24.
This Emmys success story included wins in traditionally franchise-averse categories, such as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, in which Cristin Milioti was honored for her work as the terrifying Sofia Gigante/Falcone.
It is not often a network catches lightning in a bottle in the way that The Penguin has, so it would be silly for those involved to abandon the project, or at least not explore what a potential follow-up could look like.
Without any insider knowledge or definitive declarations from those involved indicating whether it is happening or not, one can likely assume that a second season will eventually see the light of day.
Will it be anytime soon? That remains another question entirely.
With Matt Reeves' The Batman 2 coming in October 2027, and Farrell's Penguin character at least loosely involved in that, a Penguin Season 2 release sometime after that would make the most sense.
