When does The Penguin take place on The Batman timeline?

The Penguin is the first spin-off to be released from Matt Reeves' take on The Batman. Focusing on one of the major characters in that film, Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb, the series has been compared to everything from The Sopranos to Scarface (including in our own The Penguin review ) as it takes viewers deep into Gotham's criminal underbelly. Its main focus? One man's determination to rise to the very top.

However, while The Penguin is clearly very connected to The Batman, the lack of official crossover between the two ( there's no Batman cameo, for instance ) means that you might be a little bit confused about how they link up timing wise. Add to this some confusion over whether it's a prequel, sequel, or something in between, it all gets a bit messy – and that's without even mentioning the DCU timeline. So to help you navigate this new series, we've compiled the ultimate guide to where and when the events of The Penguin take place.

And don't worry, this one is spoiler free too, so you can be fully prepared for when the new show launches this week. Where does The Penguin take place on The Batman timeline? The Penguin begins one week after the events of The Batman , and acts as a prequel to The Batman 2, which is due out in 2026. If you need a quick refresh about what exactly that means, the show begins in the chaos of the Riddler's flooding of Gotham city.

This was confirmed way back in 2022 by Farrell who told Extra : "It starts about a week after The Batman ends. So, Gotham.