Will there be The Penguin season 2? Latest news and speculation

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Penguin episode 8.*

Although many fans of The Penguin are willing another season into existence, it appears we're no closer to knowing whether the HBO series will return for more. However, we do now know a few more parameters around the potential of a second season.

For starters, showrunner Lauren LeFranc has said that we can't look ahead to The Penguin season 2 when we still don't have The Batman Part II. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she said that the "intention of our first season always was, we’re launching Oz into the second film, and so we couldn’t air a second season until after Matt’s movie comes out".

Similarly, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content Casey Bloys told Deadline about a potential second season: “It’s definitely possible. Obviously, Matt has the film that he needs to work on. But there’s definitely a possibility. I think probably what’s most important in that world right now is getting the movie started, and I know they’re dealing with that now.”

With the note that things ended on in season 1, series star Colin Farrell has previously admitted that it may be hard for his protagonist to come back from such a disturbing turn of events.

Having murdered Vic (Rhenzy Feliz) in the finale, Farrell told The Hollywood Reporter: "I certainly think it makes [a second season] more difficult. [Killing Vic] is a very hard thing to claw back from. It’s not impossible, but it’s a tougher hill to climb."

It's certainly a valid point to remember, but does that mean we could be seeing more of Cristin Milioti's Sofia instead? While nothing has yet been confirmed, Milioti remains excited about whatever shape her character's future takes, whether in another season of The Penguin, The Batman II or in her own spin-off series.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com exclusively, Milioti said: "I'd play her for the rest of my life. I mean, I love that show, and I love those people. You know, it was like, across the board, 10 out of 10s. And I would love to be able to revisit it one day."

But what else do we know about the potential for The Penguin to return for a season 2? Here's everything we know so far.

Will there be The Penguin season 2?

Currently, there's no confirmation as to whether there will be The Penguin season 2, but we wouldn't rule it out.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com in 2024, actor Farrell said that, while the show was originally planned as a limited series, he would "absolutely" be up for more.

He said: "It was only ever envisioned as an eight-hour limited series, but it's gone pretty well and I would imagine when things tend to go well, people tend to want to revisit them.

"If they came up with an amazing way to do another eight hours, and if it fit in primarily to Matt Reeves's vision, because this whole show really had to work with being born of The Batman film and also being kind of a cartilage to the second film, which I haven't read yet...

"Matt's the wizard of this whole universe. So Lauren LeFranc [showrunner] and her team of writers, myself, Mike Marino [makeup/prosthetic artist], when we were deciding that the Penguin would look the way he did, we all have to be in step with what Matt's vision is.

"So if Matt wants to do a second season, for sure, I'd consider it, yeah. [But] by the end of this I'd had my fill! I know I was bitching about not having enough in the first film, but I'm good now. I've been at the table for long enough. It was amazing, but it's quite a thing."

However, Farrell has been a bit more pessimistic about the possibility recently. Speaking to ComicBook, he said: “Oh, I don’t know. I have a bit of a, generally speaking, I have a bit of a negativity bias. Apparently, I’ve been told by various people close to me. So I would say I would bet against, but not by much.”

He also said in an interview with Variety, when asked about a potential season 2: "I don’t want it, I don’t not want it. We all left it in the ring in those eight hours. I would hate to, just because of a quote-unquote success, have to go again and for it to be a diluted version of what people seem to feel it is, majoritively.

"So I’m in no rush. I have no deep desire to do it. Sure, if they think of something that works in conjunction as a parallel to Matt Reeves’s cinematic universe and it’s a good idea, I’m open to it. But it’s not something concerning me."

The priority for the universe of the TV series is with the upcoming second Batman movie, though, with HBO CEO Casey Bloys telling Variety: "The number one thing right now that Matt is dealing with is getting the movie going. I believe they’re making progress there.

"I know that he and Lauren 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."

Showrunner LeFranc has also opened up about the potential of a second season, saying that "there’s no current status update" regarding the future of the series.

She told The Direct: "I mean, we put it all out on the table. I think that in order to do a second season, we have to feel like we can top ourselves. We have to feel like there's something more there to really dig into.

"Gotham City is just such a fun sandbox to play, and I'd love to keep playing in it, but I think it just has to be the right thing. We should never do anything just to do it."

In December 2024, Milioti told The Hollywood Reporter: "All I can say is that it is my wildest hope [to play Sofia Falcone again]. It’s my wildest hope, and I couldn’t be any clearer about making my desire known. But I haven’t heard anything concrete yet."

At this point, it seems it's all up in the air - so watch this space!

When could a potential The Penguin season 2 be released?

If The Penguin does get renewed for a season 2, we'd expect a long wait ahead, perhaps for a release date in 2028.

It's clearly just an idea at this point, and it would require as lengthy a production period as season 1 did.

Showrunner LeFranc has spoken about the fact that if a second season of The Penguin was to go ahead, it wouldn't return before The Batman: Part II. LeFranc said that any new season wouldn't air until after Matt Reeves's film would come out. So, we could be waiting a while yet.

Season 1 had a long road to release after all. Development was under way by September 2021 but, as many other productions did, its filming faced a delay due to the Hollywood labour disputes.

Filming concluded in February 2024, with the show being released in October 2024.

Who could be in the cast of a potential The Penguin season 2?

We'd expect some of the cast of season 1 to return if the series is confirmed for season 2 – with some notable exceptions of people who didn't make it to the end. This is your last spoiler warning!

Key cast members who could return include:

• Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb/Penguin
• Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone
• Theo Rossi as Julian Rush

If Rossi does return, then don't expect him to take on the mantle of Batman villain the Scarecrow, as had been theorised by some fans - LeFranc has explicitly ruled that out.

Of course, a fair few figures didn't make it to the end of season 1, most prominently Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, who was killed by Oz in the season 1 finale.

Michael Zegen's Alberto Falcone was also killed early on in the season.

Episode 4 was an absolute blood bath, with Sofia Falcone killing much of her family in the gas spill. Plus, while Francis Cobb, Oz's mother, played by Deirdre O' Connell, made it to the end of the series alive, she was left in a vegetative state and permanently bedbound.

In season 2, we could potentially see the appearance of:

• Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/The Batman
• Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman

While Pattinson and Kravitz did not appear in season 1, the door has possibly been left open for their arrivals in season 2.

What could the plot of a potential The Penguin season 2 be?

Details are thin on the ground currently about what the plot of The Penguin could be, but we'd expect to pick up with Oz after he's won the city and has become its kingpin, following his rise through the ranks of Gotham's underworld.

We'd also expect to follow Sofia Falcone as she meets her half-sister, Selina Kyle.

The Penguin is available to watch on Sky and NOW.

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