When it was first announced, The Penguin was set to be a one-season spin-off that would further explore the Gotham City established by Matt Reeves in The Batman. At the end of the film, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) has been assassinated, which leaves a massive space open for the city’s other aspiring crime lords to step in. Picking up shortly after the events of the film, The Penguin sees Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) do everything in his power to claim that open seat, and shows him facing off against other rising bosses like Cristin Milioti’s Sofia and Clancy Brown’s Sal — often to explosive outcomes. By the time the miniseries celebrated its finale, the title was a hit with fans and critics alike, holding an 85% approval rating with the former and a 95% approval rating with the latter on Rotten Tomatoes. In the months since its November bow, audiences have been wondering if the studio and Reeves will ever give the greenlight on a second season.
Today, Deadline released an interview with Channing Dungey, the Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, a few promising updates were given pointing to the potential return of Oz Cobb and his dangerous yet captivating story. Perhaps the most important thing to know is that it’s not just the fans wanting more, but also those involved with the production who see just how much of a standout it is.
“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.”
Timing is Everything
Despite the initial intentions, it’s staggeringly obvious that the title could move onto at least one — if not several-more seasons. In addition to doing it “the right way,” Dungey said there’s one other big puzzle piece that would need to fall into place for The Penguin to rise again — and it makes complete sense.
“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.”
With Reeves’ The Batman Part II facing one delay after the next, the timeline is getting stretched out more and more. Could The Penguin Season 2 satiate fans while they wait for Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader to snap back into action? Warner Bros. will never know until they try.
Season 1 of the award-winning series, The Penguin, is now streaming on Max.
via Collider