Warner Bros. is capitalizing on the success of The Batman at the global box office, using the Matt Reeves film as a springboard for spin-off TV shows. Although we have known for a while that Matt Reeves was working on a Penguin-centric spin-off, The Penguin, HBO Max has made the show official.
Despite Penguin's stature as one of Batman's most iconic enemies, Oswald Cobblepot hasn't always had the best big-screen outings. The most recent actor to portray the eccentric criminal mastermind before Colin Farrell was Danny DeVito in 1992's Batman Returns. But, with Farrell effectively capturing the essence of the character in The Batman, it's only natural that HBO Max gives the series the green light after spending a significant amount of time in development.
Unfortunately, the official announcement of The Penguin did not come with other useful information, such as the plot or a release window.
Having said that, fans shouldn't get their hopes up about The Penguin spanning multiple seasons. HBO Max specifically noted that The Penguin will be a limited series, suggesting that it will only run for a few episodes and one season before wrapping things up. The good news here is that HBO Max could use The Penguin to gauge interest in other characters that are part of The Batman mythos.
We already know that Warner Bros. is looking into doing a Catwoman spinoff and a series centered on Arkham Asylum, so we're not ruling out the possibility that HBO Max will use these limited series' for further worldbuilding while leading up to an inevitable The Batman sequel.
Ultimately, the fate of the presumed The Batman universe depends on just how far the Robert Pattinson-led movie can go at the global box office. The Batman already has the second-largest box office opening of the past two years while also opening to rave reviews. With a few more weeks to go in theaters, WB will be keeping a close eye on The Batman before it starts to greenlight the other spin-offs that Reeves wants to do.
In the meantime, The Batman fans can check out our analysis of The Batman, specifically the plot holes and inconsistencies in an otherwise brilliant film.
