Posted in: HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: The Penguin

The Penguin Showrunner LeFranc on Season 2, More "Batman" Spinoffs

The Penguin Showrunner Lauren LeFranc on where things stand with not just The Penguin Season 2 but also other "The Batman" spinoffs.

While DC Studios awaits Matt Reeves' final script for The Batman 2 on the film side of "The Batman Crime Universe," Emmy Awards season has fans reflecting back on the greatness of Showrunner Lauren LeFranc's Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti-starring The Penguin. Checking in with Deadline Hollywood's Crew Call podcast (which you can check out below), LeFranc updated on how things were looking regarding a possible second season. In addition, LeFranc also touched on the topic of other spinoff series stemming from the larger cinematic universe.

While both Farrell and Milioti have previously gone on record saying that they would want to return if the new season had something new to say and would look to maintain the quality of the first season. That's a position that LeFranc has maintained since first being asked about the chances of a Season 2, noting again that "it depends on whether there's a story that we can make richer than what we've already done." With the first season structured as a "fully arced" limited series that told a complete story, LeFranc is still "in the process of exploring what that would be, if there will be more."

As for the possibility of there being additional spinoffs spotlighting other characters from the cinematic universe, LeFranc noted that "we're in early stages" of seeing what that could look like. In terms of Reeves' upcoming sequel film, LeFranc shared that The Batman 2 is a big factor when it comes to where things could go with The Penguin, but that's not necessarily the case with other spinoff series.

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 (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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