Posted in: HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, the batman, The Penguin

The Penguin Season 2 Chances Better/Worse After The Batman II Shift?

Are the chances better or worse for a second season of HBO's The Penguin after the news that "The Batman II" has been pushed back to 2027?

Earlier this month, we reported on a video conversation that Matt Reeves ("The Batman Epic Crime Saga") had with Zoë Kravitz (Blink Twice) as part of Variety's "Directors on Directors" series. At one point, the discussion turned to Showrunner Lauren LeFranc's Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti-starring The Penguin, HBO's hot spinoff from Reeves' The Batman and prequel to "The Batman II," and if there would be another season. "And more of these shows? Everyone's freaking out over 'The Penguin,'" Kravitz asked Reeves – whose response offered a bit more hope about a second season than we've gotten in the past. "Yeah, we're talking to [showrunner] Lauren [LeFranc] about doing another season. That was a special experience. I just feel really fortunate. These characters don't belong to me; they belong to the world. It comes down to whether you can approach them in a way that expresses something personal," he explained.

Previously, Reeves (who serves as an executive producer on The Penguin) shared that there have been conversations about expanding "The Batman Epic Crime Saga" with additional limited series – though nothing specific regarding a second series go-around for Oz (Farrell) and Sofia (Milioti). Farrell has gone on the record saying that he would definitely consider a return if there was "a great idea [for season two], and the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than it was the first season." And now, we have another interesting development that will definitely have an impact on the show's future – we're just not sure if it's in a good way or not.

Earlier today, word came down that "The Batman II" had shifted its premiere date back one year – from October 2026 to October 2027. The reason? "The only reason for the delay is there isn't a full script (those of you who follow me here probably know that already). Matt is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write. Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting, and post-production on big films," Gunn wrote on social media, confirming that the script wasn't ready for a 2026 debut.

So what do we think? While we respect DC Studios' decision not to proceed with a film or series until scripts are in place, it's a long road between now and October 2027. Our first thought was that a second season would be a great "second bridge" to the sequel while keeping the overall franchise in the headlines. On the other hand, we're not sure just how "hard-wired" the season finale was into "The Batman II" – is it too much of a direct lead-in to be able to have something else take place between it and "The Batman II"? Then again, would it have to be a second season of The Penguin? There are a lot of folks who would be interested in seeing Sofia's story, starting at the point where we last saw her. Once again, though, there's the matter of how much you can do that won't impact the sequel.

The Penguin: How HBO's Spinoff Series Set Up The Batman II

At the end of "A Great of Little Thing, we see Oz and Eve (Carmen Ejogo) celebrating Oz's new status – but it's one that came with a painful price for a lot of folks. For Sofia, it was a fate worse than death: arrested and returned to Arkham State Hospital. But when Oz heads over to see his mom with Vic (Rhenzy Feliz) to share the good news – and to seek her approval – he learns that Francis Francis (Deirdre O'Connell) suffered a major stroke, leaving her in a vegetative state but with her eyes open. Believing that family makes him weak after a heart-to-heart with Vic, Oz murders his right-hand man, making the crime look like a murder before walking off (with a whole ton of symbolism in that scene where Oz tosses Vic's ID into the river).

But some very interesting threads remain. Though back in Arkham, Sofia appears to be under the care of a returned Dr. Rush (Theo Rossi), who shares with Sofia a letter from her half-sister – Selina Kyle (Kravitz's Catwoman in The Batman), who's looking to connect. Meanwhile, with his mother being cared for in his private residence on another floor, Oz plays out some serious mommy issues while dancing with Eve (even having her dress like his mother), speaking to her and asking her to speak to him like he wanted Francis to – that she loves him and is proud of him. But just when Oz is at his moment confident, a very familiar Bat Signal lights up the sky. It looks like someone has caught the attention of Robert Pattinson's Batman.

"That's something that we figured out early on. It felt like an elegant handoff to the movie," LeFranc shared with Deadline Hollywood. "That was always a conversation that Matt Reeves and I had. Should Batman be in our show or not? I know it became sort of a controversial thing to say that he shouldn't, but it really just felt like it was detracting from our characters. Batman takes up a lot of space. So, in that regard, it just didn't feel appropriate for the characters in our show. If Oz has now achieved a level of power where Batman is noticing him, that's really what we wanted to signify in the end."

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