The Batman: GCPD series has evolved into an Arkham series that will be “like a horror movie”

Back in July of 2020, it was announced that The Batman director Matt Reeves and Boardwalk Empire creator Terrence Winter were teaming up to develop an HBO Max series that would be set in the Gotham City Police Department. Then last week, Reeves mentioned the Penguin series that’s also in the works at HBO Max, but didn’t mention the GCPD show. Instead, he said “we’re doing another series that connects to Arkham (Asylum)”. During an interview with The Cyber Nerds, Reeves has now confirmed that the The Batman-related GCPD series evolved into an Arkham series.

Asked for an update on the Gotham City Police Department show, Reeves said,

The GCPD thing, that story has kind of evolved. We’re actually now moving more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham coming off our movie and some of the (villain) characters, again in their origins. Almost leaning into the idea of, it’s like a horror movie or like a haunted house that is Arkham. The idea of, the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character so you’d go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. So in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve and it started feeling like, ‘Wait, we should really lean into this.’ And that’s kind of where that’s gone.”

The Batman just had a $134 million opening weekend, the second best of the pandemic era, so Warner Bros. and HBO Max are probably feeling good about having spin-offs in development right now. And we’ll probably be hearing sequel news soon as well. Reeves said a couple weeks ago that the sequel talks have already begun.

Scripted by Reeves and Peter Craig, The Batman has the following synopsis:

The Batman is an edgy, action-packed thriller that depicts Batman in his early years, struggling to balance rage with righteousness as he investigates a disturbing mystery that has terrorized Gotham. Robert Pattinson delivers a raw, intense portrayal of Batman as a disillusioned, desperate vigilante awakened by the realization that the anger consuming him makes him no better than the ruthless serial killer he’s hunting.

The film stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as Lt. James Gordon, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton / The Riddler, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson, and Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál.

Reeves produced The Batman with Dylan Clark. Michael E. Uslan, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo, and Simon Emanuel serve as executive producers. The film sports a PG-13 rating for “strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material.”

The Batman is now in theatres and is scheduled to reach HBO Max on April 19th, and that Arkham series will arrive…eventually.