How The ‘Penguin’ Finale Tees Up The Next Batman Movie

Meet the new boss. Tonight’s finale of HBO’s The Penguin brought with it some major status quo changes for the future of Matt Reeves’ Gotham City. The limited series, set between The Batman and its impending sequel, and was conceived as a bridge between the two films, setting up 2026’s The Batman II while fleshing out the backstory of Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb, the titular Penguin. And while the Penguin finale brought the story to a close in a fairly conclusive manner, the series also leaves a few lingering plot threads for Reeves to explore in future films.

The most immediate repercussion is that Cobb has now established himself as Gotham’s new king of crime—and has done so in a way that allows him to operate with near-total impunity. As tensions between Oz and Sofia (Cristin Milioti) escalate throughout the finale, Oz meets with a corrupt councilman, and the two work out a deal. With mayor Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson) now looking to restore hope to Gotham in the wake of The Riddler’s attacks—as seen in The Batman—the city is looking for someone to blame for the sudden crime wave. And Oz has the perfect candidate.

After getting the upper hand against Sofia, Oz captures her and drives her down to a quiet part of Gotham, presumably to kill her. Instead, as she closes her eyes and waits for a bullet, she’s greeted by a spotlight and the Gotham City police, who capture her and throw her back in Arkham. Sofia becomes the presumptive scapegoat for all of Gotham’s issues. She’ll presumably go to trial or stay in prison, with the notion that Gotham is now crime-free.

Only Oz is now in charge of everything. With the corrupt councilman in his pocket and the laundered appearance of being an upstanding citizen, Oz can safely begin to conduct his organized crime. Here stands a man who’s far different from the mid-level mobster we first meet in The Batman. The film ended with Oz looking over the destruction of Gotham and seeing a chance to take it for himself, and over the course of this series he has, in a monstrous fashion that confirms him as a legitimate threat in Gotham. As the show reaches its final moments, Oz and his girlfriend Eve (Carmen Ejogo) ballroom dance throughout his swanky new penthouse, where he talks about how there’s nothing left in his way. As the camera pulls back and away from the two dancing figures, we see the Bat-signal light up Gotham’s skyline. While the man himself is never seen throughout The Penguin, it’s a timely reminder that the two are on an inevitable collision course—presumably in The Batman: Part II.

But the World’s Greatest Detective isn’t the only figure from the broader Batman mythos referenced in the finale. In the jailhouse, as Sofia sifts through fan mail and marriage proposals, she receives a note from none other than Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), who’s writing to Sofia to tell her they’re half-sisters. Despite having left Gotham for Blüdhaven at the end of The Batman, Selina’s also keeping tabs on what’s happening and will hopefully have a drop-in with her half-sister at some point in the next film. Establishing their family connection is also a savvy way to keep Milioti in play moving forward.

As good as Farrell is throughout the series—and he’s damn good—Milioti is the deserved standout. While she’s the kind of stalwart actor a lot of folks probably already know about, whether from How I Met Your Mother or her star turn in Palm Springs, The Penguin likely introduced her to a whole new audience with a barn-burning performance that’s one of the best of the year. It’s refreshing to know that’s a card Matt Reeves can pull in The Batman: Part II should he so desire. Milioti, much like Sofia, has made quite a name for herself, and letting her interact with Selina is quite a juicy tease that’s waiting to be explored when The Batman: Part II hits theaters in October 2026.