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Bit of a bummer update for all you Gothamites. As you may know, the planned Arkham Asylum and Gotham PD TV series, which were meant to be spinoffs of Matt Reeves's The Batman, are no longer in the works at HBO. And now, we know why.  According to Reeves, they got the ax because there were no major characters headlining the show(s).

The news comes to us via Entertainment Weekly, who spoke to Reeves and a host of familiar Bat-faces ahead of the HBO/Max debut of spinoff The Penguin (don't worry, that show is still on its way!). Along with his producing partner, Dylan Clark, Planet of the Apes director Reeves recounted that the ideas for the now abandoned spinoffs came even before The Batman was in theaters.

"As we were writing [The Batman]," says Reeves, "I was like, 'Hey, you know what? I think there are some cool shows that we could do. [...] It was actually why I wanted to make our deal at Warner Bros."

Related: The Penguin: A guide to DC's Oswald Cobblepot ahead of The Batman spinoff show on Max

But as Reeves, Clark, and others began building out their version of Gotham (referred to by Reeves as the "Batman Epic Crime Saga"), an edict came down from top brass at HBO saying that "we want to lean harder into the marquee characters." 

On the one hand, you can see their reasoning: big ticket DC characters tend to sell, well, bigger tickets. And yet, you can't help but take a look at the success of a certain Peacemaking streaming series, which starred a C to D-tier comic book character, and wonder if either an Gotham PD or Arkham Asylum show would have flourished if given the chance.

Either way, Reeves had some good news to share along with the bad - The Penguin will incorporate certain elements originally intended for the Gotham PD series. So not all of Reeves's GCPD will be forever stuck in un-development. Even if they didn't turn out to be the Joker in disguise.

The Penguin debuts on HBO and Max in September 2024.

He is vengeance, he is the night, he is... one of Popverse's favorite subjects. Learn how to do a Dark Knight movie marathon right with our Batman movie guide, and for the true World's Greatest Detectives out there, dive deep into the heart of Gotham City by getting to know Batman with Popverse.