The events of The Penguin rocked Gotham (literally), with Oz Cobb reigning over the city as its new kingpin in the wake of all sorts of chaos – and it’ll have a big impact on The Batman 2.
At the end of 2022’s The Batman, Bruce Wayne’s attitude to crimefighting evolved: fear was still a tool, but hope was a greater weapon. “I have had an effect here, just not the one I intended,” he said.
However, the Riddler’s attacks left Gotham in tatters and paved the way for a violent power struggle, with the two biggest crime families wiped out, a huge explosion leaving a crater in its most impoverished area, and Oz taking control in The Penguin finale as the city’s most ruthless gangster yet.
Who knows what the caped crusader has been up to in the interim, but when he returns in The Batman 2, he’s going to find it “very hard” being the hero the city needs.
“This was a time of great turmoil in the city, it’s literally the week after what happened,” Matt Reeves explained to Digital Spy.
“Much of the city is in desperation, so police can’t get everywhere, there’s crime everywhere, it’s a very, very dangerous time.
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“[Batman’s] out there trying to grapple with the aftermath of everything that happened, which to some degree he blames himself for.”
In another interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reeves stressed that while Oz will return in the sequel, it’s “very much a Batman movie, so its focus is on Batman and Bruce. It’s very much taking Robert Pattinson through this next leg and how the Rogues Gallery fits into that.”
“There are absolutely certain ways in which [The Penguin] has affected it…. we’re still talking about the bigger picture and the future and what a second season of The Penguin might look like.
“You go through a process where you do something and have feelings about them, and then you see it go into the world and it’s no longer your baby. It belongs to the audience… we don’t know yet. We’re just starting to figure that out.”
In the meantime, find out why Dr Julian Rush may be a Batman villain in disguise and how The Penguin finale could have made one change to set up The Batman 2. You can also check out our list of the best superhero movies of all time.
