We’re going to have to cancel our visitor’s pass for Gotham City’s most notorious mental hospital. Via Variety, we’ve learned that the Max streaming service is not moving forward with the proposed Arkham Asylum series, which was formally announced back in late 2022. This would have been the first Batman-centric series set in James Gunn’s new DCU, not in The Batman universe, like the upcoming Penguin series. Antonio Campos was developing the series, which originally began as part of Matt Reeves’ universe, before switching gears. Apparently, DC Studios and Warner Bros. have not ruled out another take on the Arkham Asylum series in the future.
This series has gone through several permutations since 2020. Originally, it was a show about the Gotham P.D. That evolved into a show about Arkham Asylum itself, where Gotham City’s most mentally deranged criminals reside. So basically every Batman foe not named Catwoman or Ra’s al Ghul. Creators like Terrance Winter and Joe Barton came in to develop the project, but both left over creative differences. The last iteration from Antonio Campos was described as a “horror movie or haunted house that is Arkham.” That sounds pretty cool to us.
If we were to guess why they’ve stopped development on Arkham Asylum, it might have to do with the DCU setting. If DC Studios has yet to introduce their Batman, how do you introduce his main villains first on another series? Whoever the director may be for Batman: Brave and the Bold might want a say in who will play their version of the Joker. Or Poison Ivy, or any other famous Arkham inmates. More than anything, this may be the hold-up on progress for Arkham Asylum. However, we think an Arkham-based series will see the light of day at some point. We’re just going to have to wait a bit longer.