If you wanted final confirmation that Matt Reeves' The Batman would be existing outside of James Gunn's DC Universe (DCU), you finally have it.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reeves revealed that he and his producing partner Dylan Clark refer to their Batman universe as the 'Batman Epic Crime Saga.'
The universe began with Robert Pattinson's 2022, underrated superhero origin tale and will continue with HBO's The Penguin, which will hit HBO in September.
Reeves was also developing an Arkham television spin-off that surprisingly was revealed to be set within Gunn's DCU before the project was ultimately canceled.
"As we were writing the movie [The Batman], I was like, 'Hey, you know what? I think there are some cool shows that we could do," Reeves told EW. "It was actually why I wanted to make our deal at Warner Bros."
According to Reeves, HBO execs told him that they wanted him to lean into the marquee characters more. As a result, the Arkham series was nixed and elements of a separate, Gotham PD spin-off, were folded into The Penguin.
In other news, Warner Bros. Discovery has recently decided to push The Batman sequel back to October 2, 2026, a whole year from its original October 3, 2025 release date.
With the first film releasing on March 4, 2022, that means there will be a four-year gap between theatrical installments. However, Reeves went on to explain that The Penguin picks up one week after where The Batman leaves off, and then leads directly into the sequel.
"It’s a Scarface story. It’s a rise-to-power story of Oz before he really makes it to the top," said showrunner Lauren LeFranc. He added, "We’re living in the underbelly of the city. Oz is a mover and a shaker. He can’t always be trusted. He’s very smart and very methodical, but he’s also extremely impulsive. You can’t predict what he’s going to do."
LeFranc went on to describe the series as the bridge that connects the two films, "We are the bridge between the two films,” LeFranc reveals, referring to The Batman and Reeves’ sequel, slated for 2026. “We’re going almost directly into the second film Matt has planned.”
The Penguin Official Synopsis: The next chapter in The Batman saga from Matt Reeves. Academy Award Nominee Colin Farrell is The Penguin in the new 8-episode, Max Original Series coming this fall to Max.
The series stars Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin, Michael Kelly as Johnny Vitti, Cristin Milioti as Carmine Faclcone’s daughter Sofia Falcone, Michael Zegen as Carmine’s son Alberto Falcone and Clancy Brown as rival mobster Salvatore Maroni.
Also appearing in supporting roles are Jared Abrahamson, Rhenzy Feliz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, Theo Rossi, and David H. Holmes.