The Penguin explored Gotham City pretty thoroughly, but somehow it missed Detective Jim Gordon in all its eight episodes. Actor Jeffrey Wright spoke about the omission in an interview with Inverse this weekend, saying that he was never approached for the show and he doesn’t know why his character didn’t make a cameo. He did say that he is open to joining the show for any future seasons.
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“There was no talk of my being in this first season,” Wright said of The Penguin. As for Season 2, he said: “Who knows? We’ll see what happens down the line, but I’m juggling enough balls as it is.” Wright played the iconic Gotham Police detective in The Batman back in 2022, alongside Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne himself. The spinoff series centered around Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobb, who made a relatively brief appearance in the movie. There were plenty of other characters who crossed over for this show, but Jim Gordon wasn’t among them.
There are plenty of reasons to leave Gordon out of a spinoff like this – it could be that audiences would question why the detective never called for help from Batman, expecting to see them together at all times. However, it’s not like the stakes never got high enough for him – Con O’Neill reprised his role as the GCPD chief Mackenzie Bock, for example. Whatever the case, The Penguin was successful enough without the Dark Knight and Gordon, prompting a lot of hope for a renewal.
The Batman: Part 2 Director Matt Reeves Gives Special Thanks to The Penguin Cast & Crew Before Finale
Future of Gotham
In the same interview, Wright had a more disappointing update on the future of Gotham City on screen. When asked about The Batman Part II, he said: “I’m excited about getting back there, but you probably know as much as I know. I haven’t read anything. I haven’t talked to Matt for a while. He’s been off doing his thing, I’ve been off doing mine. But I look forward to getting back there.”
“There’s a lot to explore… I think the vision that [Reeves] has of Gotham is a really wonderful one, really rich and kind of grimy in the best way,” he concluded.
That’s just one of the recent hints that The Batman sequel is far from complete. Last week, we also learned that Pattinson has joined the cast of Christopher Nolan’s next film, which is expected to begin filming in the first half of 2025, meaning he would not be available to put on the cowl. Meanwhile, DCU head James Gunn told fans on Threads that the script for The Batman Part II is not really complete, leaving more work to be done before cameras can roll.
In addition to Pattinson and Wright, Farrell is expected to reprise his role in The Batman – Part II, whenever it’s made. As for The Penguin, many of the people involved have expressed hope for a second season, but it hasn’t been renewed so far. If it is, it would be tied to the next movie one way or another, adding another complication to the scheduling ordeal.
The Batman and The Penguin are both streaming now on Max. The Batman Part II is officially scheduled to premiere on October 2, 2026.
