Before HBO and Matt Reeves’ The Penguin series arrived, word surfaced that it would bridge the gap between The Batman movies. That promise appears to have been fulfilled (although we won’t really be able to judge connective success until the next Battinson movie surfaces), and a demonstrative thread exists between Sofia Falcone and her half-sister (in this universe), Selena Kyle.
The Penguin viewership has also proven the Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti-starring series to be “the most-watched current HBO or Max title debut season globally behind only ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘The Last of Us.'” So, questions of a second season have been swirling after Oz Cobblepot positioned himself on top of Gotham’s underworld.
The difficulty with a renewal, however, is that Colin Farrell spent the lead-up to this finale talking about how he never wanted to sit through the makeup-and-prosthetics process again. To be fair, it sounds like a lot to endure, and as he recently told Games Radar about a second season, “I don’t know, man.” He then added, “Don’t get me wrong – I loved it – but it got in on me a little bit. By the end of it, I was b*tching and moaning to anyone who would listen to me that I f*cking wanted it to be finished… I had ‘grumpy gratitude.'”
After the finale, how does Farrell feel in light of the show’s growing ratings and following positive reception? He sounded much more open in retrospect while talking to Hollywood Reporter:
“If there’s a great idea [for season two], and the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than it was the first season, of course I would do it.”
Farrell then added that the initial critical response to the series was of course nice, but “I’ve been around long enough [to know] that it’s the audience who are really the most important critics.” In other words, being “back by popular demand” could actually happen. Maybe he’ll be able to avoid reliving that crotch prosthetic if the show continues? As a compromise.
With that said, HBO has not yet announced a second The Penguin season, but surely, that remains an option.
