Colin Farrell has insisted Penguin Season 2 is not currently in the works, but he has pointed to Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 and even namechecked the so-far unannounced Batman 3.
There’s a lot to untangle here, so let’s start at the beginning. Matt Reeves’ self-contained DC universe is called the ‘Batman Epic Crime Saga.’ This so far includes 2022’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, and HBO Max series The Penguin, which sees Colin Farrell reprise his role as Oz Cobb.
The Penguin is set one week after The Batman and leads into the events of the upcoming The Batman 2, whose script everyone and their dog (DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn included!) has been waiting on with a great deal of anticipation. That script is finally complete, with The Batman 2 itself due out Oct 1, 2027.
But given the success of The Penguin, the expectation is it will get a second season. At least, that’s what everyone keeps asking Colin Farrell about. In a new interview with Variety, Farrell was asked about rumors there could be a second season. Here’s his response:
“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.”
Wait, Batman 3? Yes, Reeves has said he set out to make a trilogy of Batman films, and as of last year that plan was still on, but given how long it’s taken to get The Batman 2 going (if it does come out in October 2027, it’ll arrive five-and-a-half years after The Batman), the idea of The Batman 3 following in a timely fashion feels tricky.
And then we have to take into consideration Gunn’s own plans for the DC Universe’s Batman. Last month, while promoting the rebooted DCU kickstarter Superman, Gunn admitted: “Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now.”
In February, Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed The Brave and the Bold will introduce a new Batman into the DCU, ruling out Pattinson crossing the streams in the process. At the time, Safran and Gunn said Pattinson would play Batman in Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga only.
So what does the prospect of The Batman 2 in 2027 and The Batman 3 coming out after mean for the timing of The Brave and the Bold? Gunn faces the potentially confusing situation of having two actors playing Batman in movies across two different DC universes.
As of February, The Brave and the Bold was said to be in “very active development,” and the story was “coming together very nicely.” But is The Flash director Andy Muschietti still directing? Gunn and Safran are developing the script, and will show it to Muschietti “when we have it in a place where we think it’s ready to go… and see if it’s a fit for him,” Safran said earlier this year. “I’m very, very actively involved in that script,” Gunn said, also earlier this year.
Speaking more recently on Batman, Gunn said he’s not actually writing The Brave and the Bold, but is working with an unnamed writer to “get it right.”
“Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally,” he said. “And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right, because he’s incredibly important to DC, as is Wonder Woman.
“So outside of the stuff that I’m doing in the projects that are actively going, our two priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman and our Batman scripts.”
Gunn then discussed in vague terms the kind of Batman he’s going for — or, perhaps it would be better to say the kind of Batman he’s trying to avoid.
“Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be, ‘Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,’ which he is. But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman.
“But yet he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really. So we’re dealing with that. I think I have a way in, by the way. I think I really know what it’s — I just am dealing with the writer to make sure that we can make it a reality.”
Gunn reportedly plans for his Batman to join forces with Superman and Wonder Woman for a Justice League movie, but when that comes out is anyone’s guess. Matt Reeves’ Batman, meanwhile, may come to an end with The Batman 3.
And while Farrell himself cast doubt on The Penguin Season 2, HBO Max boss Casey Bloys sounded more positive, also in an interview with Variety. Without providing a release window, Bloys said:
“The number one thing right now that Matt [Reeves] is dealing with is getting the movie going. I believe they’re making progress there. I know that he and [showrunner] Lauren [LeFranc] have talked about various ideas. So, could another chapter be in the future? Definitely possible. Right now, I think the priority for Matt is the movie. But I know that Lauren is thinking of various ideas that might work alongside the movie. I think it’s possible. I just don’t know at this point.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
