The Arkham Asylum-based spinoff from The Batman is making a big move as it becomes a part of the DCU.
DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn spent some time on social media this weekend replying to fans, and the topic of Matt Reeves’ Arkham Asylum-based series came up. It seems there has been a big change to its setting and it is no longer part of The Batman universe, but instead will now be set in the DCU.
jann_silva_
Sir, could you tell me if Matt is producing another Batverse project, other than The Batman 2, Penguin and Arkham?jamesgunn
Right now Matt is producing Arkham as a DCU series, so there’s just the two for now.nicktiznado
@jamesgunn sorry is the Arkham show set in the DCU?jamesgunn
Yes. We love Matt as a director and producer so he’ll be producing stories both within his The Batman universe and within the DCU.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything on this project. In Oct. 2022, Antonio Campos was reported by Variety to be the showrunner. But since that time things have been fairly quiet.
The Arkham Asylum series has had a bit of an odd road to this point. It was first announced in July 2020 as a series focusing on the Gotham PD with a series commitment from HBO Max. It then lost its showrunner in November of that year. Over time as work has developed on it, it morphed into a project that will focus on the infamous Arkham Asylum.
With its move to the DCU, it creates an interesting situation. Andy Muschietti has been named as the director of The Brave and the Bold, the first project in the DCU confirmed to include Batman. With this series sitting so firmly in Batman’s corner of the DCU, we’ll be curious to see what input, if any, he has into the project.
No word as of yet as to when either program will debut on HBO Max.
