WithThe Batmanjust a day away from release, director Matt Reeves has divulged some interesting information regarding the upcoming spinoff series centered onThe Penguin. In an interview withVariety, Reeves revealed that the idea behind the HBO Max series began life as an idea forThe Batman 2before the studio decided instead to give the supervillain gangster his own show.
According to the piece, Reeves “mentioned offhand to some studio executives that he thought a second “Batman” movie could focus on how Oz became a crime kingpin.” But rather than use this idea for a sequel toThe Batman, the studio felt that the rise of The Penguin would be better suited to a television series. “And they were like, ‘Oh, we want to do that as a show,’” Reeves said.
So, that likely means that we can considerThe Penguinseries to be the unofficialThe Batman 2for now, until an official sequel is announced. While details ofThe Penguinseries remain largely unknown, this information at least reconfirms that theHBO Maxshow will take place after the events ofThe Batman,and explore the evolution of Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot from cowed nobody to the ruthless kingpin of crime that DC fans all know and love.
Director Matt Reeves has previously revealed a few more details concerning his approach toThe Penguinseries,comparing the project to the Al Pacino classic,Scarface. “I said [to HBO Max], ‘To be honest with you, the thing that was going to be the seeds of what I thought the next story could be in terms of the Penguin is that I saw there being this kind of ‘American dream in Gotham’ sort of story, almost like Scarface; the rise of this character who we all know will achieve mythic status,’” Reeves revealed. “He is underestimated and he’s like a time bomb… They were like, ‘Oh my God, we’re in!’ And that was really exciting because, by that point, Colin had already given life to this character.”
The Penguin isjust one of several spinoffs ofThe Batmancurrently in development, with a show focused on Gotham PD also in the works. “It will obviously have a lot to do with how people receive this film,” Reeves explained when discussing the making of a franchise off the back of The Batman. “But a lot of things are in the works.”
Audiences Will See The Batman 2 Within the Next Few Years
As for an actual sequel toThe Batman,producer Dylan Clark has now gone on recordstating that the movie will hit theaters within the next few years. “I will go on record and say that it will be less than five years,” Clark said confidently.
StarringRobert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell,The Batmanis set in The Dark Knight’s second year of fighting crime and sees Batman uncover corruption in Gotham City while pursuing the Riddler, a serial killer who targets Gotham’s elite.
The Batmanwill be theatrically released on March 4.The Penguinand other spinoffs do not yet have release dates, but will stream exclusively on HBO Max.
