Washington [US], June 22 (ANI): Colin Farrell has said he is “absolutely” open to returning for more seasons of HBO’s acclaimed crime drama ‘The Penguin’, but only if a continuation can match the quality of its debut season.
Speaking to People magazine at the season 2 premiere of his Apple TV+ series Sugar, Farrell said he believes “there’s a potential to explore more” when it comes to Gotham-set drama ‘The Penguin’.
However, the actor stressed that any future instalments would need a compelling reason to exist.
“Should we? Can we get there? Could we justify a second or a third season when the first season was as strong as it was?” Farrell said, as per People magazine.
“They’re the conversations that we still need to have,” he added.
Farrell, who is confirmed to appear in the next Batman film, indicated that discussions about additional seasons of The Penguin are unlikely to move forward until work on the upcoming movie is further along.
“The powers that be are working very hard on bringing Batman to life now, the second film, so there’s no time to get into [another season of The Penguin],” Farrell explained.
“But maybe when the shooting on that is completed, maybe we’ll start thinking about a second and third season of Penguin. But it would have to justify itself. It’d have to be amazing because [showrunner] Lauren LeFranc and her team did such an extraordinary job in the first season,” he continued.
The first season of ‘The Penguin’ followed Farrell’s Oz Cobb as he fought rivals for control of Gotham’s criminal underworld.
The series received widespread acclaim, with Farrell earning a Golden Globe in 2025 for his performance.
During the same conversation, Farrell also reflected on returning for season 2 of Sugar, where he reprises his role as private investigator John Sugar.
The actor admitted he felt nervous stepping back into a character he had already played.
“[I’m] always nervous going to work, regardless of the job, because you’ve no idea what you’re doing, and because you’ve never done it before. Because each job is unique … a different story, different characters,” he said, as per People magazine.
Farrell noted that while he had previously revisited the Penguin character after appearing in ‘The Batman’, his experience with Sugar felt different because he had spent much more time developing the role.
“I got to learn really about the Penguin more in doing the show than I did ever in the film,” he said.
Discussing his return as John Sugar, Farrell added, “And so yeah, to go back into it, I was a little nervous.”
The actor ultimately described the experience positively, praising the character’s personality and emotional depth.
“But it’s such a lovely-hearted character and really, in many ways, a really simple character. A man of, I suppose, uncommon kindness and empathy, and yet also still very much somebody who can take care of himself,” Farrell said.
He added, “It was lovely. I loved it. I would do this every year if I could.” (ANI)
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