Following The Batman's hugely successful theatrical run, director Matt Reeves announced that a number of small-screen spin-offs were in the works, including The Penguin, a Gotham PD series, and a project focusing on the infamous Arkham Asylum.
Only one of these ended up moving forward (The Penguin season finale airs next week), but executive producer Dylan Clark recently indicated that early plans are in place for another show set in "The Batman Epic Crime Saga," and Reeves has now confirmed that more shows are being discussed.
Andy Serkis (Alfred) asked Reeves if a second season of The Penguin is on the cards or whether he plans to take us "into Gotham through another lens" while speaking to the filmmaker for InterviewMagazine.com.
"We have been talking, and it’s exciting because people are now embracing the show. My fantasy is coming into being, which is very exciting, and HBO has been incredibly supportive from the beginning. Now to see that the show is being embraced is really, really exciting. We have been talking about doing other shows. I wanted to make sure that we didn’t do the origin tale, which so many of the other series have done. I think the idea of being able to put a lens on these characters is a really exciting idea. It’s about cities and their dysfunction and the world and its dysfunction, which is what Batman stories are all about. They’re all about Gotham being a place that should be better. And you can have the experience of this almost novelistic epic crime saga, but you also just get these separate experiences. They have their own dramatic value. So Oz’s story is Oz’s story, and the idea is to do these other stories in the same way."
Reeves didn't mention any specific characters, but he did previously hint that a legal drama focusing on Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, might be one possibility.
Reeves also spoke about having the freedom to make The Penguin a little more adult-oriented after being "handcuffed" to some degree while working on The Batman.
"It’s interesting because in a Batman movie, there are resources that are tremendous, so we’re able to do quite grand things, but we are handcuffed in other ways. When we were dealing with the ratings board, they were like, 'You got to pull that back and this back.' But with HBO, those handcuffs were removed. It gave us the ability to be really character-forward. Even just the way that Oz can be so deliciously profane. Now as we’re working on the movie, he can’t be quite as free with the profanity. There is a wonderful tone to the way Colin does it, so we have to find the right balance."
Which Batman characters would you most like to see get the spotlight in another HBO spin-off series?
The Penguin stars Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb), Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo), and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).
The eight-episode DC Studios drama series continues The Batman epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster The Batman, and centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.
The series is executive produced by Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, Lauren LeFranc, who writes and serves as showrunner, Craig Zobel, who directs the first three episodes, and Bill Carraro. Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, the show is produced by Reeves’ 6th & Idaho Productions and Dylan Clark Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Reeves and 6th & Idaho are under an overall deal. Daniel Pipski also serves as executive producer.