A producer behind both The Batman and The Penguin confirmed that another spin-off series for Matt Reeves' fan-favorite Gotham City is in development.
The Penguin, starring Colin Ferrell, is right around the corner. However, there were also plans for more spin-offs, one focused on Gotham's police department and another about Arkham Asylum itself.
Sadly, in July, Reeves told Variety that HBO had dropped both ideas. According to him, the studio wanted to "lean harder into the marquee characters."
The Batman Team Confirms 2nd Spin-Off Show In the Works
The Direct spoke with The Penguin executive producers Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark at a press roundtable for the upcoming HBO series, during which Clark revealed that another spin-off series in The Batman Epic Crime Saga is in development.
To understand his answer, context is needed first.
The Direct's initial question asked the duo if any of the time spent in Arkham Asylum in The Penguin and the exploration of Sofia Falcone as a character were brought over from the Arkham Asylum spin-off series that was reportedly dropped by HBO.
Reeves bluntly responded "no," while explaining that everything seen in Arkham Asylum in the series "was solely driven by what would tell Sofia's story," something spearheaded by The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc:
"No, no. That story came from what Lauren [LeFranc] came up with as the backstory for Sophia Falcone. And really, what was chosen and what was used was solely driven by what would tell Sofia's story... ... The character that you're meeting was actually formed through the crucible that is this experience in Arkham."
Reeves reiterated that they were not trying to set anything up down the line with their storyline in Arkham Asylum:
"That was what dictated what we saw and so, and that was all. That was all what Lauren wanted to do within that space and what she did with it. So it wasn't like, Oh, gee, do we want to give this part because we're gonna do this in Arkham, or that, like, obviously we had a bit of Arkham in 'The Batman' and, you know, there may be other[s]..."
The Batman and The Penguin producer Dylan Clark went on to state how it was important for their Arkham Asylum to visually fit within the world established in the 2022 movie:
"That was important to us, that visually it looked like--we had to match that part of it. And that's the fun of having made the movie and being the producers of the television series, how those worlds connect so that they feel like a nice handoff. That part of it is fun..."
Clark then casually confirmed that he and Reeves are "continuing" to develop another spin-off "series:"
"But her ideas and the story elements that relate to [Sofia Falcone], those are all new ideas for her and have nothing to do with the other series that we're continuing to do."
What Will the Next Spin-off for Matt Reeves' The Batman Be?
With Reeves and Clarke confirming another spinoff series in The Batman Epic Crime Saga is in active development, what could it be about?
Dylan Clark could be indicating that the "other series" they are still "continuing to do" is the Arkham Asylum show mentioned in the question prompt––despite word of its cancellation from Matt Reeves earlier this year.
Interestingly enough, in the same roundtable with The Penguin executive producers Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark, the creatives were asked about the possibility of a legal drama series following Harvey Dent.
While the two did not give a definitive answer, Reeves noted that the journalist was "thinking certainly in the way that our conversations have gone."
After all, Two-Face is an iconic character in Batman's world, and a legal drama would be an incredibly natural way to introduce or further explore the character to audiences.
Other great potential options could be to set up the villain for The Batman: Part II, maybe explore the seedy elite society of the Court of Owls, or even give Joker the spotlight (which could, admittedly, feel redundant after Joaquin Phoenix's recent films).
The Penguin airs on Thursday, September 19, on HBO, and then drop weekly episodes every Sunday starting the following week.
