DC Studios takes its Gotham worldbuilding very seriously. Even without properly introducing Batman, the DCU keeps referencing not only him but also the town he calls home, whether it's a road sign in Superman or a name-drop in Lanterns. Clayface will kick things up a notch as it sets up shop in Gotham and puts the spotlight on one of the Dark Knight's most iconic villains. Another Batman spinoff is in the works that will take the same approach. And it's the perfect place for DC Studios to reintroduce Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.
Despite a stellar first season, a second outing just wasn't in the cards for HBO Max's The Penguin. Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb will return in The Batman: Part II, allowing the focus to return to Matt Reeves' version of the Caped Crusader. But DC Studios didn't want to let all the talent that worked on the show slip away. The Penguin showrunner, Lauren LeFranc, is gearing up to produce a Poison Ivy TV series for HBO set in the DCU, not the Bat-Verse (via Deadline).
No one has landed what's sure to be a highly coveted role yet. However, there's so much Poison Ivy lore out there that it's easy to predict what the powers that be will look for. Originally a botanist who dedicated her life to protecting the environment, Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley turned to crime when she realized no one was taking her seriously. Her abilities let her control people with pheromones and manipulate plant life in extreme ways.
In recent years, Poison Ivy has been portrayed more as an anti-hero than a straight-up villain because, despite her questionable methods, her goals aren't entirely evil. Her dedication to protecting life that can't protect itself has made her the apple of more than a few characters' eyes. The character she has a soft spot for more than any other, though, is Harley Quinn.
Recent comic book runs have seen the two villains pull off some major jobs together. They also find time to maintain a romantic relationship between all the lawbreaking. The animated Harley Quinn TV show took a slow-burn approach with the couple. However, it eventually brought them together in Season 2 and never drove a real wedge between them before the end of its final season.
Now that Poison Ivy is taking center stage, that relationship can also flourish in live-action. Of course, Margot Robbie has been DC's main live-action Harley since 2016's Suicide Squad; Lady Gaga took on the role in Joker: Folie à Deux, but that was a one-off. But since James Gunn took over DC Studios, he hasn't found a place for Robbie, whom he worked with on The Suicide Squad.
Robbie hasn't ruled out returning as Harley in a DC Studios production. If she's keeping the door open, Gunn and Co. should walk through it and let her lend instant credibility to the Poison Ivy TV show. Bringing her back into the fold would also ensure that the world the DCU's Batman steps into is unlike anything the hero has seen on the big screen.
DC Studios Is Setting Up a Different Kind of Gotham
While Clayface might be about an iconic DC villain, his story won't be black-and-white. Mike Flanagan and James Watkins are painting Matt Hagen as an anti-hero, someone who wants to get back at the evil people who treated him poorly. Creature Commandos likewise showed that Batman villains have more depth than meets the eye with Doctor Phosphorus, who helped liberate Pokolistan from an evil ruler.
If the Poison Ivy spinoff paints the titular villain in a somewhat positive light and brings Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn into the fold, who tends to do the right thing when backed into a corner, it will set a precedent for all of the Dark Knight's adversaries. Long gone are the days when people are evil for evil's sake; now they have a method to their madness, and the heroes must adjust.
Batman has always been portrayed as one of DC's smartest heroes. His brain gives him an advantage over the bad guys, who usually don't stop to think when they're out on the town. But if they change their tune and keep the Caped Crusader on his toes, it'll make for compelling stories.
Of course, there's still room for the likes of the Joker. However, he's been done to death and still has a role to play in Matt Reeves' franchise. It's nice that DC Studios is making way for a different breed of villain and using characters who have spent most of their live-action careers on the bench.
