Matt Reeves has definitively stated that Robert Pattinson’s Batman won’t be in The Penguin.
The Penguin is scheduled to premiere on HBO and Max on September 19, 2024. Serving as a spin-off to 2022’s The Batman, the eight-episode season will see Colin Farrell reprise his role as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot.
Since the series has been announced, there’s been much talk about whether or not Pattinson will reprise his Bruce Wayne/Batman role or make a cameo in The Penguin. It has already been confirmed that Pattinson will return for the forthcoming Batman sequel, The Batman — Part II, which releases in 2026.
What did Matt Reeves say about Robert Pattinson and The Penguin?
Speaking to Total Film Magazine, Reeves confirmed that Pattinson will not appear in the series.
“Rob is not going to be in the show,” Reeves said. “I’d rather take the Band-Aid off now. We did talk about all that but we felt the best way to do this was to go on a grand exploration of a guy grabbing for power in this moment.”
Reeves noted that they did briefly consider bringing Pattinson back; however, they felt that Batman should merely be a “presence” in the series rather than an actual character.
“I’m a point-of-view filmmaker,” he said. “When I’m doing a Batman story, Batman and Bruce is going to be the main point of view. To explore the rogues gallery, they could never get the real estate we can do in a series. So Batman is in this [show] only as a sense that he’s a presence. You’re aware that all of these events began because of the Riddler, but the Riddler doesn’t appear and Batman doesn’t appear.”
In addition to Farrell, The Penguin stars Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Clancy Brown, Deirdre O’Connell, Michael Zegen, Theo Rossi, Carmen Ejogo, and more.
