With The Batman dominating the box office this weekend, all eyes are on the future for director Matt Reeves’ new franchise. While an HBO Max spin-off series is still in development, the focus has now evolved from it being centred on the Gotham City Police Department to Arkham Asylum, the prison that holds many of Batman’s most dangerous villains.
Reeves spoke with The Cyber Nerds podcast and gave an update to the HBO Max series, revealing the GCPD prequel drama will now be more of a horror-themed show set in Arkham and may be set after the events of The Batman.
“The GCPD thing, that story has kind of evolved,” Reeves said. “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…it’s like a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham… 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.”
With the series set in Arkham Asylum, it’s possible we’ll see Paul Dano’s Riddler again or other Batman rogues, including The Batman’s surprise cameo. Reeves is still further expanding the world of The Batman with another series based around The Penguin that will see Colin Farrell reprising his role and it’s still possible we’ll see the Gotham PD series come to light down the line. Reeves will produce the Arkham series through his company 6th and Idaho.
Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies—Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright)—amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.
The Batman sees Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse) donning the cape and cowl as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Paul Dano (Escape at Dannemora) as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro (The Big Lebowski) as Carmine Falcone, Alex Ferns (Chernobyl) as Commissioner Pete Savage, Con O’Neill (Ordinary Lies) as Chief Mackenzie Bock, Peter Sarsgaard (The Killing) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson and Jayme Lawson (Farewell Amor) as Bella Real.
The Batman is playing in cinemas everywhere now.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
