HBO’s The Penguin is set to come out next week, and in the lead up to that, Matt Reeves hit the press circuit to promote the spinoff series from his movie, The Batman. In his interview with Collider, he also confirmed that we will see more of Robert Pattinson’s emo Caped Crusader, and not just in the previously announced The Batman 2.
“Yes, that is still the plan,” Reeves told Collider when asked if three movies were still mapped out. He added that “it’s sticking very closely to the path we envisioned,” although The Penguin series shifted things.
“I had always intended to continue Penguin’s story, and wanted to tell this story of his beginning of rise to power. Because we know that he’s introduced in The Batman as a kind of mid-level, sort of overlooked, mocked figure, who’s not yet in anyone’s eyes the kingpin we come to know him as in the lore,” Reeves said, going to on explain that Oz Cobb’s journey was originally meant to kick off The Batman 2. “It’s still the same kind of trajectory of story,” he explained, saying that we now just see Oz’s rise in crime in The Penguin rather than in the upcoming movie.
The Penguin starts a week after the end of The Batman and serves as a bridge between that movie and its sequel. The good news for fans of the franchise is that The Penguin is set to premiere on HBO on September 19, 2024. That’s next week! The bad news is that The Batman 2 is currently slated to come out in October 2026. That’s right, two years from now! If/when Reeves’ third planned film comes out remains to be seen.