How HBO’s The Penguin sets the stage for The Batman Part 2 … and can make the sequel even better

Director Matt Reeves’ The Batman earned critical and commercial success in 2022, and while it’ll be sometime before the sequel, HBO’s The Penguin has been filling that void. Showrunner Lauren LeFranc (Chuck, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has done an impressive job of fleshing out the character arc of Colin Farrell’s transformative version of Oswald Cobblepot — and Gotham City with it.

The HBO miniseries feels like an ambitious Breaking Bad and Sopranos-like take on Batman’s sandbox, seemingly setting the stage for what fans might see in 2026’s The Batman Part II. While the show undoubtedly adds layers to “Oz’s” rise as a major player in the city’s streets, Cristin Milioti’s menacing Sofia Gigante suggests there’s more on the horizon for Gotham’s criminal underworld.

Note: The following article contains spoilers for HBO’s The Penguin.

The Kingpin of Gotham City

HBO

Despite the limited screen time, Colin Farrell’s take on the Penguin was magnetic in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. His performance was transformative more than in the costuming sense, incredible as it was, as he injected some welcome dark humor and personality into one of Gotham City’s grimiest characters. While the initial announcement of the show’s existence might have baffled some audiences, The Penguin is another example of giving fans something they didn’t know they wanted. 

The Penguin doesn’t skip a beat in picking up where Oswald “Cobb” left off in The Batman. With seven of the miniseries’ eight episodes released, the plot gives meaningful insight into what the villain’s role might be in 2026’s The Batman Part II. Showrunner Lauren LeFranc’s series leans even more on the crime-noir atmosphere Reeves envisions for this Dark Knight’s universe, showing how Oz navigates the seedy machinations of Gotham City’s underworld. The Riddler’s devastating terrorist attack has turned the city into a free-for-all among its organized crime syndicates. But Oz’s brand of cunning seems to prove audiences are in for a Penguin with more power plays to make in The Batman Part II. As devilishly charismatic as Oz was in the 2022 film, the late Carmine Falcone and even Batman and Lt. James Gordon treated him like the butt of a joke. 

He’s far from it in HBO’s The Penguin, as he’s already elevated himself from underworld bottom-feeder to a bona fide mob boss. He’s revolutionized the drug trade with “Bliss,” striking at an incredibly vulnerable Gotham that can only barely distribute power across the city. It’s hard to believe the city will fully recover by the time The Batman Part II begins. This is reminiscent of the Batman comic book arc No Man’s Land, where a category 7.6 earthquake levels the city, and the government essentially declares it a lost cause.

It leads to the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery wreaking even more havoc and carving out territories for themselves — a situation eerily similar to Matt Reeves’ universe. Oz has turned into an underground hit in Gotham’s crime scene literally and figuratively, and while fans eagerly anticipate how The Penguin’s final two episodes play out, he could easily be the city’s kingpin in the 2026 movie.

On the shoulders of Gigantes

HBO

While HBO’ The Penguin has been a revolution for Oz’s place in the world, what’s even more impressive is Cristin Milioti’s portrayal of Sofia Gigante. The actress’s performance made Carmine Falcone’s daughter a relentless force of nature, overcoming years of torture in Arkham State Hospital after being framed as the “Hangman” serial killer and even usurping and disavowing her father’s side of the crime family. With Sofia even convincing Falcone’s rival Salvatore Maroni to join forces in a show of power, the Gigante boss could have a role to play beyond The Penguin.

With one episode in the HBO miniseries left, fans will need to wait for the dust to settle before getting a clearer picture of the state of organized crime going into The Batman Part II. However, it’s not unreasonable to think the Gigante crime family could be a major underworld player in the 2026 film, clashing with Oz’s new enterprise.

Sofia certainly has the willing foot soldiers and a powerful ally in Maroni to support that premise. That’s assuming, of course, she survives the events of The Penguin. Regardless, it’s an interesting change from the villain’s comic book counterpart in Dark Victory, where Sofia is revealed to be the Hangman killer out for revenge against Gotham P.D. figures associated with former District Attorney Harvey Dent (who eventually becomes Two-Face).

Gotham’s Dark Knight will have his hands full in 2026

Warner Bros. Pictures

Alternatively, Sofia Gigante could influence Gotham’s criminal state of play indirectly. Should Oz be the last one standing in the grisly conflicts to come, the newly-christened mob boss could absorb whatever resources the Gigante crime family leaves behind. This would see the Penguin fill the power vacuum left by Carmine Falcone in The Batman, with all other lesser crime families forced to play by his rules. Even so, it’s inevitable that The Batman Part II will feature a new major antagonist.

Matt Reeves has been touting his Batman canon as an epic crime saga, leaning on the more noir elements the hero is known for. LeFranc’s The Penguin emphasizes this further, opening the door for similarly-themed villains from Batman’s rogues gallery to enter the fray. While it would be more exciting to see antagonists with less live-action presence, Two-Face would seamlessly fit the tone and overarching narrative of The Batman universe.

Warner Bros.

With systemic corruption as a recurring theme, a once-promising DA falling from grace in Part II isn’t hard to believe. Even the famously brutal Roman Sionis, aka the “Black Mask,” could be introduced to challenge the underworld hierarchy through a rapidly growing Sionis Crime Family. Whichever new villainous direction Reeves decides to take in the sequel, the events of The Penguin and its shifting dynamics will pave the way for a new breed of organized crime for the Dark Knight to tackle in The Batman Part II.

New episodes of HBO’s The Penguin premiere on Sunday nights, and the first seven of eight episodes are available to stream now on Max. The Batman is also streaming, with Part II releasing in theaters on October 2, 2026.