THE BATMAN: 5 More Spinoffs That Should Follow GCPD And THE PENGUIN's Planned HBO Max Shows

THE BATMAN: 5 More Spinoffs That Should Follow GCPD And THE PENGUIN's Planned HBO Max Shows

The Batman is now right around the corner, and with two spinoffs in the works for HBO Max, we already have some ideas for characters we'd like to see better explored on the small screen after this movie...

Feature Opinion
By JoshWilding - Feb 21, 2022 12:02 PM EST
Filed Under: The Batman

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.

To take a look through this feature, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button below!
 

5. Carmine Falcone

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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

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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

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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"

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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

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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."
 

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noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 2/21/2022, 12:33 PM
A Falcone show, while it sounds like a cash grab, could be interesting if they brought in pre-Grundy Cyrus Gold as the snitch of his organization who gets killed. Or maybe they could include the real guy who inspires the construction of the Scarface puppet as a rival monster. They could do a tragic story with Selina Kyle’s mother.

Out of these, the one I want is either Catwoman or Batman Year One
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 2/21/2022, 12:35 PM
A two face movie or show about his origin and descent into madness could totally be really good. Bringing in his abusive father and Gilda Dent would both be elements we haven’t seen before in live action versions of the character
tb86
tb86 - 2/21/2022, 12:43 PM
A Carmine Falcone show sounds boring to me. I’m not really into mafia stuff unless Batman is involved.
Luigi
Luigi - 2/21/2022, 12:45 PM
Insert Ryan Reynolds "But Why?" Gif
Blergh
Blergh - 2/21/2022, 12:46 PM
Can't we just get a regular Batman show that sees him deal with his immense rogues gallery?
HBO Max has high budget series content, they wouldn't devalue the brand, they could still make movies featuring the cast and they would make BANK.

A TV/Movie hybrid series that has regular seasons air every two years and films in between, now THAT'S an idea
dragon316
dragon316 - 2/21/2022, 3:20 PM
@Blergh - we got wand vision show that had nothing do with her villians , wolverine origins villian bad looking Deadpool , Loki
Whaley87
Whaley87 - 2/21/2022, 4:24 PM
@dragon316 - The Suicide Squad also had Starro who has nothing to do with the Suicide Squad. Black Mask in Birds of Prey also.
The1st
The1st - 2/21/2022, 12:51 PM
Hush shouldn't happen until the final film, that final test before he is now officially The Batman. I would watch a Clayface series, but I don't know how grounded this universe is really supposed to be yet. It could be a compelling tragedy to watch the fall of Matt Hagen and showcase one of my fave villains from BTAS in Roland Daggett.
RokoVII
RokoVII - 2/21/2022, 12:52 PM
Not every character needs its own spinoff show
Repian
Repian - 2/21/2022, 1:07 PM
The Question Show in Matt Reeves' Bat-universe and Onomatopoeia as one of the villains.
Twenty23Three
Twenty23Three - 2/21/2022, 1:09 PM
Or literally no spin offs? I’d go for zero if these terrible ideas
supermanrex
supermanrex - 2/21/2022, 1:09 PM
Matt Reeves says he doesn't want to do the fantastical aka comic book side of the Batman mythos. Basically all the cool sci fi comic book shit that is part of Batmans rogues gallery will be stripped down for down to earth villians. no way we gonna get Clay Face, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and etc. I wish they would embrace Batmans crazier side of rogues.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 2/21/2022, 5:28 PM
@supermanrex - same. The Arkham games still felt very real, even though it had a ton of fantastical elements. Could always look to that
Tufasrox
Tufasrox - 2/22/2022, 3:18 PM
@supermanrex - Totally agree and my #1 biggest complaint about all this. To push the 'grounded' narrative as the reason not to have the fantastical elements that fans love when your main protagonist is a man in a bat costume is frankly f*ckin dumb lol.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 2/21/2022, 1:12 PM
Falcone could be interesting, but these just seem like retreads of Gotham for the most part. I'm assuming Penguin will examine more of the crime families anyway.
RubyRhod
RubyRhod - 2/21/2022, 1:12 PM
I'm still wating for the Greenlantern hbomax series,and WB already thinking about Batman spinoffs?
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 2/21/2022, 1:16 PM
Catwoman: No Stray Home
SethBullock
SethBullock - 2/22/2022, 12:11 AM
@99OPTIMISTPRIME - I would watch the adult version of this.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 2/21/2022, 1:44 PM
Or how about no more besides Catwoman
itzayaboy
itzayaboy - 2/21/2022, 2:06 PM
Let's see the movie first.
Lokiwasright
Lokiwasright - 2/21/2022, 4:27 PM
Soon extrasvwill get a spinoff
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 2/21/2022, 5:27 PM
I'm not really interested in a Gotham underworld story or a supporting characyer spin-off. We already had a few of those before.

Rather just see a show that has Batman as the framing device or a show centered around a villain like Clayface. Or if they make Basil/Clayface a movie villain, then a show with all the Clayfaces.
L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 2/22/2022, 1:34 AM
Catwoman show, please.
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