Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Penguin.After his debut, it seems like Robert Pattinson’sBatmanmight have left Gotham City, asThe Penguinintroduces evidence that would point to that conclusion. Despite only having one appearance so far, Pattinson has already managed to become one of thebest live-action Batman actors. The starwill return for at least two more films to concludeThe Batmantrilogy, with his version of the Dark Knight set to remain separate from James Gunn’s newDC Universe. Director Matt Reeves wants it that way, choosing instead to build more projects aroundThe Batman.
Before Pattinson returns in 2026 forThe Batman - Part II’s mysterious plot, Reeves' Batman franchise, dubbed “The Batman Epic Crime Saga,” has gotten an exciting new chapter.HBO’sThe Penguinhas assembled a star-studded cast, with the DC series being led by the powerful performances of Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb and Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone/Gigante.The show is directly tied to the events ofThe Batman’s ending, exploring how Gotham City’s criminals react to the news that Carmine Falcone is dead.The Penguin’s events make it hard to believe that Pattinson’s Batman is still in Gotham.
Gotham’s Gang War Should Have Brought Batman Out
Oz Cobb’s Plan Turned Gotham Into A War Zone
The Penguinfollows Farrell’sOz Cobb as he attempts to fill the power vacuum in Gotham City’s criminalunderworldthat was created by Carmine Falcone’s death inThe Batman. To do so, Oz decides to put Gotham’s two most notorious crime families against one another. The character plays the Falcones and the Maronis, pretending to align with each side in order to start a major gang war that adds even more chaos to a city that has been pushed to the brink after the Riddler flooded Gotham inThe Batman.
The Penguin’s gang war got as bloody as expected. Sofia Gigante got revenge for how her family treated her, killing all but one member of the Falcones with gas and later shooting Johnny Viti in the head as she started a new crime family to destroy Oz. The fight between the Falcones and the Maronis left a trail of blood on the streets of Gotham, with shootouts in the middle of the street, prison attacks, and Oz burning Sal Maroni’s wife and son alive. With the level of violence escalating in Gotham, Batman should have appeared, but he did not.
The Penguin Midseason Trailer Reveals A Huge Gotham Disaster
It Makes No Sense That Batman Would Not Show Up
Somehow, it seems like the final episodes ofThe Penguinwill be even more bloody and action-packed than what has come before. Audiences already got a first look at it throughThe Penguin’s midseason trailer. The new footage from the show reveals thata bomb will go off in the middle of Gotham, with Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb covered in dust as he walks amid the rubble left in the wake of the explosion. With Oz going up against Sofia Gigante and Sal Maroni, who have now formed an alliance, more harm should come to Gotham besides just the bomb.
With Gotham City and its citizens being caught in the crossfire ofThe Penguin’s gang war, one would imagine that scenario would require Robert Pattinson’s Batman to step in. While the HBO series is all about Farrell’s Oz Cobb, a single appearance from the Dark Knight to address the state of disarray in Gotham would be warranted. However, it has already been revealed thatPattinson’s Batman will not appear inThe Penguin. The choice was explained by director Matt Reeves during an interview withScreen Rant. The director believesThe Batmanspinoff shows are meant to explore other characters' experiences.
The Batman’s Ending Hints At Batman’s Hiatus
The Batman’s endingteased the state of mind that Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne was in. After spending much of the DC movie angry and acting as Gotham’s “Vengeance,“Batman became a symbol of hopeas he saved hundreds of citizens from the flood the Riddler unleashed on the city. Faced with the question of what Batman truly is, it would make sense if Bruce took some time off Gotham to figure that out before returning to the city and becoming the ideal version of the Dark Knight that he was meant to be.
The movie showed that Bruce was still somewhat new to the superhero life, so after realizing the responsibility he had to the citizens of Gotham, Bruce could have decided to step back and hone his skills
In DC Comics, Bruce becomes Batman after traveling the world for years and learning varied skills. A version of that could apply to Pattinson’s Batman. The movie showed that Bruce was still somewhat new to the superhero life, so after realizing the responsibility he had to the citizens of Gotham, Bruce could have decided to step back and hone his skills. Adding to that,The Penguinteased the answer to whereBatmanis. A promotional newspaper for the series revealed thatBatman had not contacted Jim Gordon in weeks, teasing that Bruce is really not in Gotham duringThe Penguin.
The Batman
Cast
The Batman follows a young Bruce Wayne as he investigates a sadistic serial killer targeting key political figures in Gotham. As he delves deeper, he is confronted by the city’s hidden corruption and questions surrounding his own family’s legacy.
The Batman Part II
The Batman Part II is the sequel to Matt Reeve’s The Batman, released in 2022, and will continue where the original film left off. The film shares a universe with the HBO Max original Penguin series and sees the return of the Riddler and a different incarnation of the Joker.
The Penguin
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
