As The Penguin wrapped up its largely acclaimed first season, the natural first question is: well, is there going to be more? And HBO doesn't really have a yes or no answer to that as of yet.
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, spoke with journalists at a press event on Tuesday, where he was asked about the possibility of a second season of Matt Reeves' The Batman spinoff. His answer: you'd have to ask Reeves, showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and star Colin Farrell about that.
"That would be Matt and Lauren really deciding," he said. "Matt, obviously he's writing the movie and they're gunna shoot the movie and Colin's gunna be in that, and I think it would really be up to Matt and Colin and Lauren to see if there's a story they're interested in telling. I'm hopeful, and obviously it's been a lot of fun and very successful, but I'll let them figure out if there's another story they want to tell."
And some good news for fans: one of those people has already indicated interest. Farrell recently said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “If there’s a great idea [for Season 2], and the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than it was the first season, of course I would do it." Plus, Bloys noted at the top of the presentation that 17 million people have watched The Penguin's pilot so far.
But, as Bloys points out, writer/director Reeves is gearing up for The Batman II, which is set to release on October 2, 2026 after being delayed a full year. Reeves confirmed in September that the script is complete, and production is set to begin next year.
Reeves also previously teased ideas for spinoffs for other Batman villains, which a journalist asked Bloys about during Tuesday's press event. For now, however, HBO's focus is on Oz.
“We’ve been talking mostly about if there’s another story within The Penguin," he said. "…I have to let [Reeves] get the movie set up and moving, but they worked really well together, so hopefully they’ll find something that they find is exciting."
And hey, even if HBO doesn't get more of The Penguin, fans of Farrell's Oswald Cobb will still get to see him in The Batman II. For more, check out our breakdown of how The Penguin's Season 1 finale set up the film sequel.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
