Matt Reeves talks Penguin and Arkham Asylum TV shows

It looks like things are now officially moving ahead with the HBO Max TV shows tying into writer/director Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

We’ve known for a while that the streaming service was developing a Penguin and GCPD series but in the build-up to the movie’s release, things were a little quiet but now that it’s in cinemas and being generally well received, the TV shows – as well as The Batman 2 [and 3] – are back in focus. It makes sense, if the movie was not liked, it’s likely a bad idea to build the world up around it.

Speaking to the Toronto Sun, Reeves spoke about the Penguin series starring Colin Farrell which HBO Max are developing, as well as the second series which will tie into Arkham Asylum which does appear in The Batman: “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 [it] as a series…  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.’ 

“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 Rob is an incredible Batman.”

Wait, Arkham? Wasn’t the second series a Gotham PD show? Well, yes, it WAS. In another interview Reeves explains that the series has developed into more a horror based around the prisoners in Arkham Asylum: “The GCDP thing, that story has 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.

“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.”

Man, a horror series set in Arkham Asylum with characters like Joker, Scarecrow, Man-bat, Clayface and many others, this show could be a real nightmare… in a good way.

On top of this, HBO Max, on a night that revealed several DC movies have been pushed back until next year, have put out the official announcement of the Penguin series… and check out the comments, some cool replies from other DC properties in there.

Every story has a beginning.@DCComics‘ The Penguin (wt), a new Max Originals limited series starring Colin Farrell, is coming to HBO Max. Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, and Lauren LeFranc to serve as executive producers. pic.twitter.com/1bXRR4Mduw

— HBO Max (@hbomax) March 9, 2022