The Batman GCPD Spinoff Series Has Evolved to Focus on Arkham Asylum

One of the two announced The Batman spinoff shows for HBO Max has apparently evolved to be about Arkham Asylum. As previously reported, the first of two spinoff shows based on the now-hit film in development was planned to focus on the Gotham City Police Department. The series has gone through a little bit of turnover, with Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter exiting in November of 2020 creative differences, and now the film’s director and co-writer Matt Reeves tells The Cyber Nerds that the series has switched focus to involve the famous asylum from the comics.

“The GCPD thing, that story has kind of evolved,” Reeves said (per JoBlo). “We’re actually now moving more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham coming off our movie and some of the (villain) characters, again in their origins. Almost leaning into the idea of, it’s like a horror movie or like a haunted house that is Arkham. The idea of, the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character so you’d go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. So in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve and it started feeling like, ‘Wait, we should really lean into this.’ And that’s kind of where that’s gone.”

HBO Max has a second spinoff in development which will chart the rise of the Penguin’s ascent to power in Gotham’s criminal underworld. Colin Farrell will reprise his role as the character from The Batman in the new series.

Meanwhile, The Batman is tearing up the box office and is likely to get a sequel, though Warner Bros. has yet to confirm that.