The Batman Director Matt Reeves Says Arkham Asylum Series in the Works

Filmmaker Matt Reeves may have revealed a third spinoff set in the budding Batverse, the reboot universe anchored by The Batman. Reeves is developing two spinoffs expanding the world of The Batman for HBO Max: Gotham PD, a police drama about the corruption in Gotham City, and Penguin, about Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot’s (Colin Farrell) Scarface-like power grab. In a new interview, Reeves reveals a series connecting to Arkham Asylum — the psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane​ that eventually incarcerates most of Batman’s (Robert Pattinson) rogue’s gallery. 

“We’re doing this Penguin series and one of the great things about that is Colin Farrell — he’s like you’ve never seen him. He’s so incredible and he’s a scene-stealer. Along the way, we thought maybe we could do [Oz] as a series,” Reeves told The Toronto Sun. “So I talked to HBO Max and showed them Colin in the movie and spoke to them about what this could be and they said, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we’re doing that and we’re doing another series that connects to Arkham [Asylum]. We are talking and thinking about the next movie, but to be honest with you, at the moment, I really want the audience to connect with this. And I really believe they will because I think Rob is an incredible Batman.”

RELATED STORY: The Batman‘s Batverse Explained​

Set in the second year of Bruce Wayne’s costumed crusade as a vengeful vigilante, The Batman is a launching pad for the two confirmed spinoffs in the works at HBO Max. Gotham PD is a prequel to the film, taking place in Batman’s first year, and Penguin spins out of the end of The Batman to take place before a Batman sequel. (Mild spoiler warning for The Batman: the movie reveals a connection to the Arkhams, one of the “founding families” of Gotham, and one sequence takes place at the asylum.) 

Though the new movie is potentially the first of a trilogy, Reeves said of sequels, “You can’t go into a Batman movie thinking this is Chapter 1. You have to do a complete experience because you may never get to make another Batman film. So you put everything in, which is exactly what we did on this film.”

“We tried to be as ambitious as possible,” Reeves added. “Of course, at the back of your mind you’re thinking, ‘If it works, this is the beginning of this world and there are all these places we can go with these characters and this cast that has brought such vivid life to them.’” 

ComicBook CRAM Presents The Batman: 

• Back Issues: Batman Becomes DC’s Greatest Detective With a Vengeance
• Behind The Bat: The DC Comics That Inspired The Batman
• Back Issues: Catwoman Steals (and Becomes) the Heart of the DC Universe
• Back Issues: Penguin’s Storied History With the Batman Takes Flight
  
• The Bat and the Cat: The History of Batman and Catwoman’s Romance
  
• Back Issues: The Riddler’s Most Puzzling Plots Solved by Batman​

Starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as GCPD’s James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Colin Farrell as Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot, The Batman is now playing exclusively in theaters.