Matt Reeves, Batman Epic Crime Saga— as he recently named it— was always meant to expand in the Elseworld Universe that has produced quite a few hit slates including Tod Phillips’ Joker and his highly anticipated Joker: Folie à Deux. Reeve’s 2022 movie The Batman also did a splendid job retaining most Batman fans to enjoy the classic Caped Crusader with an ironclad narrative introducing several other characters. The saga of Gotham City with these characters was meant to expand with a few potential shows for HBO and Max, however, other than The Penguin, two of The Batman spin-offs were canceled and Matt Reeves just explained the real reason behind it.
Matt Reeves Revealed The Real Reason Behind Shelving Two Batman Spin-Off Shows
Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson in The Batman. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.
The Penguin starring Irish star Colin Farrell in the title role as Penguin aka Oswald Cobblepot is set to hit HBO and Max but unfortunately, two of the shows sharing the same universe will never see the light of day. Gotham Police Department and Arkham Asylum, two HBO originals based on Matt Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga have been shelved and Reeves knows the exact reason. Recently speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the director shared these projects faced premature cancelation.
“As we were writing [The Batman], 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. They were like, ‘We like what you’re doing, and we want to lean harder into the marquee characters,” Reeves told the outlet.
Gotham City Police Department reportedly booked Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter to write the show before HBO pulled the plug. Jeffrey Wright would potentially lead the show as Gotham City Police Department’s commissioner James Gordon. However, the cancelation of the two shows doesn’t mean the acceleration of the expansion is in a pause. The Penguin will carry the essence of The Batman which will be set one week after the events of Reeves’ film and will follow the rise of Oz Cobb’s crime empire.
The Penguin Bridge Matt Reeves’ Two Batman Films
Colin Farrell as Penguin. Image Credit: Warner Brothers.
The Penguin had a major role in The Batman which will be carried forward with the standalone show that Farrell’s Oz Cobb claimed. The show will also act as a bridge between the first The Batman and Reeves’ upcoming sequel slated for 2026 release.
Additionally, The Penguin will serve as the merger of the two Batman spin-offs that were canceled by the network. HBO was, according to the director, rather keen on keeping Batman as a character in the spotlight in his Batman Epic Crime Saga. “They were like, ‘We like what you’re doing, and we want to lean harder into the marquee characters,'” Reeves told EW.
“What’s interesting is that, in the movie, the big red herring of the story is it seems like the person they’re looking for, that the Riddler’s pointing to must be the Penguin, some kind of informant,” Reeves continued. “This movie creates a power vacuum, and because Penguin is so underestimated, people don’t really see who he is.”
The director went on to add that he “wanted it to be, not in a grandiose way, but in a mythic Shakespearean way, this kind of great tale.”
Regardless, fans will get to peep into the criminal empire of Cobblepot in the upcoming series set to premiere on HBO and Max on September 8, 2024.
