In a recent chat with SFX magazine for its October 2024 issue, Matt Reeves said Colin Farrell’s Penguin will be in ‘The Batman II,’ but Gentleman Ghost won’t.
“The plan is to shoot next year, and we’re finishing up the script now,” the filmmaker said. “Colin [Farrell] will be part of the movie. We’ve shared [the script] as we’ve been going along with DC and the studio and they’re super excited.”
Reeves added, “It doesn’t mean that you won’t see characters that people love. That’s exactly what we want to do. Gentleman Ghost is probably pushed a bit too far for us to be able to find a way to do, but there is a fun way to think about how we would take characters that might push over into a bit of the fantastical and find a way to make sense of that.”
The filmmaker also said The Penguin will connect directly to ‘The Batman II,’ and will continue the story from the first film. The sequel will explore deeper corruption in Gotham and reveal new aspects of Batman’s world.
‘The Batman’ was a big hit, earning $772 million worldwide, so Warner Bros. hopes the sequel will do just as well. It’s not clear yet if Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman) or Andy Serkis (Alfred) will return for the next movie.
‘The Batman II’ will begin filming in 2025. Even though Gentleman Ghost won’t be in it, new villains and storylines will challenge Batman in new ways. The movie is scheduled to be released on October 2, 2026.
‘The Penguin,’ featuring Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, James Madio, and Scott Cohen, premieres on HBO and Max on September 19.
