Arkham Asylum series still “in discussion” after Batgirl cancelation

Matt Reeves’ Arkham Asylum series is still “in discussion” after Warner Bros’ cull of DC projects such as Batgirl.

Robert Pattinson debuted as the caped crusader this year in The Batman, still ranking as one of the most successful films of the year, from critical acclaim to its $770 million box office haul.

Reeves had major plans for his Batman universe, separate from the one established by Zack Snyder – similar to Todd Phillips’ Joker. Those included two further big-screen Batman chapters and several shows, including one revolving around Arkham Asylum.

However, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s rule has begun with an iron fist. Batgirl was canceled despite completing production, along with a host of other DC projects. Fortunately, it seems like Reeves’ plans remain intact.

Arkham Asylum series still in the works from Matt Reeves

Following the success of The Batman, Reeves has signed a multi-year first-look deal with Warner Bros. He’s currently “back at work” on The Batman 2 script with Mattson Tomlin, although no plot details have been shared.

And as per Deadline, Reeves is working on Colin Farrell’s Penguin series, which is set to kick off production soon.

Excitingly, the Arkham Asylum series is still “in discussion” after the cancelation of Batgirl, the first casualty of a company-wide cull.

Originally conceived as a series centered on the Gotham police department, the spinoff evolved into an Arkham Asylum show following creative differences.

Speaking to The Cyber Nerds, Reeves earlier explained: “We’ve actually now [moved] more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham as it relates coming off of our movie and some of the characters and their origins… almost leaning into the idea of… it’s like a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham.

“The idea, again the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character.

“You go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. And so in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve, and it started feeling [like], ‘Wait, we should really lean into this.’ And then that’s kinda where that’s gone.”

There’s no release date for the Arkham series or The Batman 2 at the time of writing.