The Batman Spinoff Series Shifts Focus From Gotham PD to "Horror" Inspired Arkham Asylum
As fans of The Batman wait to see what Warner Brothers has in store in terms of a possible sequel, Matt Reeves and company are getting started on the development of two shows spinning out of the film. To date, fans know of a Penguin series starring Colin Farrell and Gotham PD, featuring Gotham's finest.
According to Reeves, the content of the latter show has shifted a bit, now focusing on "the world of Arkham" and its relation to The Batman instead of strictly on the Gotham police department.
"The GCDP thing, that story has kinda evolved. We've actually now [moved] more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham as it relates coming off of our movie, and some of the characters… almost leaning into the idea of… it's like a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham," Reeves said in a recent stop with The Cyber Nerds (via The Direct).
He added, "The idea, again the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character. You go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. And so in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve, and it started feeling [like], 'Wait, we should really lean into this.' And then that's kinda where that's gone."
While The Batman ends with a major tease of a beloved Batman villain, Reeves said elsewhere that fans shouldn't necessarily expect to see the character pop up again—at least not in the traditional post-credit stinger way.
"It's not an Easter egg scene," he began. "It's not one of those end credits Marvel or DC scenes where it's going, like, 'Hey, here's the next movie!' In fact, I have no idea when or if we would return to that character in the movies."
"I thought it'd be really neat if so much of the fabric of Gotham just already existed," Reeves added. "And it was like an old Warner Bros. gangster movie and if you took a certain turn, you might see a character in his origins."
The Batman is now in theaters.
What other Batman spinoffs would you like to see in Matt Reeves' new superhero universe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
