The Dark Knight of Earth-2 will soon return, and a TV show starring his nemesis, Penguin, will bridge the gap between movies.
In an interview with Collider, writer and director Matt Reeves confirmed that work is underway on his untitled sequel to The Batman, and that the spin-off HBO Max series The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, will set up the new movie.
Reeves confirmed The Batman 2 is being scripted, and he mentioned screenwriter Mattson Tomlin, one of several writers who refined The Batman’s script. Tomlin also wrote his own Batman comic book, Batman: The Imposter, for DC Comics. Reeves said that he and Tomlin were “deep in” the script.
On the subject of The Penguin, Reeves said there’s “a whole little fabric of things we're wanting to do, the way we're doing with Penguin and how that comes back into how that will lead into the sequel, and what that sequel is going to be.”
He added, “We are very, very soon going to start shooting The Penguin with Colin. That is super exciting.”
The Batman ends with a criminal power vacuum in Gotham City. It’s made clear Oswald resents his mid-tier status in the hierarchy, and that even his nickname annoys him. Now Oswald has his chance to seize power, if a certain Caped Crusader doesn’t get in his way.
While Robert Pattinson probably won’t make an appearance in the show, it’s clear The Penguin will shape Gotham City into something new before audiences flock back to the big screen for The Batman 2. In a March 2022 episode of Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast, Reeves described the show as “an American Dream, Scarface story of a guy who is underestimated.”
That makes it sound like we can expect to see the Penguin use every ounce of his ruthless cunning to climb the criminal ladder. With The Penguin yet to begin shooting and The Batman 2 still a draft on Reeves’ hard drive, it will be a while before Bat-fans can catch up with Reeves’ Gotham City. But Oswald Cobblepot is presumably busy scheming away.
