The Penguin picked up an incredible 24 nominations at this year's Emmys, with lead star Colin Farrell receiving a nod for "Best Lead Limited or Anthology Series Actor."
The Irish actor was incredible in The Batman, but being given a little more space to breathe in his spin-off series meant Farrell could fully explore what makes Oz Cobb's twisted mind tick. We know he'll reprise the role in The Batman Part II, and it sounds like Part III is also on the table.
Asked by Variety if he could share anything about The Penguin season 2, Farrell replied, "There’s literally not. If there was, and I was told to lie to you, I’d probably have to lie to you. But genuinely, no. Because the show went well, of course, there’s been rumblings about, 'Would we do a second season? What would that look like?' There is absolutely nothing in process."
"There’s 'Batman 2,' which I haven’t read the script for yet. And then there’s 'Batman 3.' I don’t know if I’m in them or what’s happening, but I’ll hopefully read 'Batman 2' soon," he added.
The Batman Part II is expected to begin shooting later this year and is scheduled for a 2027 release. If a third movie happens, then we wouldn't bank on filmmaker Matt Reeves concluding his trilogy until 2030 at the earliest.
The Penguin showrunner, Lauren LeFranc, was also on hand. Asked about a potential second season, she similarly suggested that the filmmaker's focus has shifted to The Batman Part II.
"I don’t know," she said of the show's future. "You’re asking me this question at the moment [as]we’re thinking about what we accomplished with season one. I think there’s a lot to do in this world. Obviously, the next thing is Matt [Reeves]’s sequel to 'The Batman.' I’ve had great pleasure in writing about things that take place in this universe."
"And certainly, this show is quite personal to me, even though it’s full of a lot of hopeful bleakness," LeFranc continued. "My job is to help make people feel things, and so as long as any writing that I do in the future can continue to do that, I would be satisfied."
The Penguin achieved what it set out to do by following Oz's rise to power as Gotham City's new Kingpin. That's bound to factor into the Dark Knight's war on crime in the sequel, and it does somewhat feel like a second season would be made simply for the sake of trying to recapture the same success as the first batch of episodes.
Like Watchmen, some shows are better as a one-off, and Reeves doesn't need a distraction like The Penguin season 2 now he's finally gearing up to start work on The Batman follow-up.
As noted, The Batman Part II remains scheduled for release on October 1, 2027.