The Penguin was a hit when it premiered on HBO in 2024. Taking us back to Gotham City in the wake of The Riddler's attack in The Batman, we followed Oz Cobb as he climbed through the underworld's ranks and became the new Kingpin of Crime.
With glowing reviews from fans and critics, as well as high viewership figures, it didn't take long before there were rumblings about a potential Season 2. The series was likely intended as a one-off to bridge the gap between The Batman and The Batman Part II. However, it's hardly surprising that Warner Bros. Discovery wanted to revisit The Penguin and recapture that same level of success.
The creatives involved with the series seemed keen on doing more, but it's worth bearing in mind that HBO submitted The Penguin in the "Limited Series" category at last year's Emmys.
Now, The InSneider's Jeff Sneider is reporting that HBO and DC Studios have decided not to move forward with The Penguin Season 2. Instead, it will remain a limited series. That isn't necessarily a bad thing.
As best we can tell, the series was always planned as a one-off, and it's hard to say what story another season would tell. We could follow Oz as he struggles to hold on to his newfound power, but that feels like a retread, and it's unlikely that Zoë Kravitz would agree to reprise her role as Catwoman to get better acquainted with her newly discovered half-sister, Sofia Falcone.
Matt Reeves is currently hard at work on The Batman Part II, and given the apparent delays that plagued the movie, his finding time to work on another season of The Penguin also seems doubtful. If anything, Warner Bros. will want him to prioritise a third big-screen Batman story.
Last year, Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, said, "The Penguin is one of those things where — and it’s interesting, because when you talk with everyone involved, everyone is interested in possibly revisiting those characters and doing more — it was very much designed as a limited series. But I would never say never."
"I think if we can get the creative stars to line up in the right way, and the talent is available — because we certainly wouldn’t want to do this without Colin [Farrell] and Cristin [Milioti] and that team — I would say it’s definitely a possibility, but there’s nothing in the works at the moment," he added.
The Penguin's cast includes Colin Farrell (Oz Cobblepot), Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo), and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).
All episodes of the series are now streaming on HBO Max.