The Batman finally arrives in theaters on March 4, but we're already aware Warner Bros.' plans for two HBO Max spinoffs. The first will reportedly follow a corrupt cop in Gotham City's Police Department during the first year of the Dark Knight's vigilante career; the second, meanwhile, is going to follow The Penguin as he rises to power as a criminal.
While we don't want to put the cart before the horse, there are already rumblings of more small screen stories set in Matt Reeves' "Batverse," and you'd best believe we have some suggestions.
With that in mind, we're taking a closer look at the characters arguably most deserving of their own TV shows, taking a deep dive into what these stories could bring to the table and how they would add more to what's going to play out on the big screen. Some are prequels, while others could fill the gap between The Batman and its eventual sequel. Either way, we'd like to see these happen, especially as it becomes apparent that Reeves is doing something really special with his take on the DC Universe.
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5. Carmine Falcone
We're not sure how significant Carmine Falcone's role in The Batman will be, but something tells us the comic book villain has been pulling the strings in Gotham City's underworld for decades.
The presumption is that The Penguin's series is going to be set after the events of this movie, so why not take us back a couple of decades - long before Bruce Wayne became Batman - and show his rise through the ranks of Gotham's criminals? It's an idea with potential, particularly if it means exploring what made this city so corrupt and how it ultimately fell into such darkness.
The series could be spiced up with a few familiar faces from the Dark Knight's rogues gallery, reinvented in ways that better establish how Gotham could deteriorate so much. Think of this less like Fox's Gotham and more like The Sopranos; it would take a deep dive into Falcone's life, exploring why he became a gangster and what led him down a path that would forever change his home.
4. Alfred Pennyworth
With Epix's Pennyworth TV series moving to HBO Max, we might be out of luck with this suggestion. However, giving Andy Serkis the opportunity to either explore Alfred's backstory or even show life in Gotham City from his perspective has all the makings of must-watch television.
There's no word on how many episodes these "Batverse" TV shows will run for, but an Alfred Pennyworth anthology series delving into his youth, the time he spent with Bruce as a child in the wake of Thomas and Martha Wayne's deaths, and what it's like when your ward becomes a masked vigilante in the present ("Year Two") could make for a compelling three-part drama.
Why bother? Well, a series like this can better establish Alfred's place in this world, filling in some gaps The Batman doesn't have time to address and giving Serkis the chance to showcase his talents.
3. Hush
We gave this entry a lot of thought as there are many villains who could receive their own series before taking centre stage in The Batman franchise. However, we've spent so much time with the likes of Two-Face and Scarecrow that giving them the spotlight feels redundant at this stage.
Making Hush the big bad of this new series focusing on the World's Greatest Detective would be something else entirely. Bruce Wayne's childhood best friend has a twisted origin story that saw him attempt to kill his parents in order to inherit their wealth only for Thomas Wayne to save his mother. Tommy Elliot ended up hating Bruce and spent years plotting his revenge against his former pal.
Ultimately aligning himself with The Riddler, Hush set out to destroy Bruce and Batman, which is a storyline we'd love to see play out on screen (especially if it included all those different rogues). An origin story for Hush would also present some exciting opportunities to explore Bruce's past.
2. "Year One"
It's been reported that the series revolving around the GCPD will be set during Batman's first year in Gotham City, though it's unclear whether Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight will appear in any form.
If so, then that could limit the need for this series. Then again, there's so much material to mine from Batman's first year as a vigilante that we see no need not to bring Pattinson back for an HBO Max limited series revealing more about his decision to don the cape and cowl. It could also explore the sort of threats he faced during that period, laying the groundwork for The Batman sequel.
Speculation continues to run rampant that Barry Keoghan is playing The Joker in the movie, so why not give him an origin story here as well? Handled the right way, this prequel would be a worthy addition to the mythos and only enhance and add to what we're seeing from Batman in theaters.
1. Catwoman
The most logical choice of spinoff would be a series that puts the spotlight on Zoe Kravitz's Selina Kyle. The Batman appears to be an introduction for Catwoman, so depending on how this story ends, we could quite easily follow Selina as she becomes a more established version of this character.
With that, the stage would be set for Selina to return in a sequel as an experienced thief or crimefighter. We're assuming she goes off to do her own thing at the end of this movie, of course, but even if she stays in Batman's life, it wouldn't exactly be difficult to pull off some sort of solo adventure.
Based on what we know about her arc in The Batman, an origin story wouldn't be necessary, so the best course of action is to use an HBO Max series to firmly establish her place in the "Batverse."