DC made me even sadder about the canceled Batman spinoff show

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of The Penguin, “Cent’Anni.”

I’m even sadder that DC’s planned series focusing on Arkham Asylum was subsequently canceled The penguin Episode 4. Matt Reeves’ series takes place alongside the mainstream DC Universe. The Batman introduced a new version of Arkham Asylum called Arkham State Hospital, where a number of notable Batman villains are imprisoned. While The Batmans The exploration of Arkham was short, I loved watching the film’s first spin-off series. The penguinand offers a much more detailed look inside the infamous institution.

DC Comics’ Arkham Asylum, also known as Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, was first introduced in 1974 Batman #258. A forensic psychiatric clinic, Arkham Asylum has been home to some of DC’s darkest and some of my favorite villains, most commonly those in Batman’s rogues gallerysince Arkham is located in Gotham City. The institution has been heavily featured in Batman’s live-action stories, but the Arkham Asylum version in The Batman and more recently in The penguinis the darkest iteration yet.

Penguin’s Arkham Asylum is better than I imagined

Episode 4 of The Penguin explored Sofia Falcone’s time at Arkham Asylum

After The Batman gave us a glimpse into Arkham Asylum, The penguin’s The episodic format allowed the institution to be explored in more detail. The penguin Episode 4, “Cent’Anni,” lived up to that promise as it told Sofia Falcone’s story of being mistakenly imprisoned at Arkham Asylum and collapsing. Cristin Milioti’s appearance in The penguin Episode 4 made me incredibly happy and made me want to see more of Arkhamalthough I’m not sure the series will take us back there since Sofia is no longer incarcerated.

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We’re relying heavily on the dark tones and down-to-earth textures that Matt Reeves established in 2022 The Batman, The penguin’s version of Arkham Asylum was really intense. It was horrifying and heartbreaking to watch the torturous treatment of Arkham’s inmates at the hands of the depraved staff and to see the desperation of some of the most troubled residents. This version of Arkham Asylum is my favorite version ever brought to the screen, so I would love to see it explored further in the futurewhich disappoints me that the Arkham-centric series was canceled by DC Studios.

I’m sad that the Arkham Asylum series has been canceled by DC Studios

The Arkham Asylum series was intended to explore the institution of the DC Universe

Back in March 2022, Matt Reeves confirmed that a series focused solely on his universe’s Arkham Asylum had been founded The Batman was in development. Reeves revealed The cyber nerds The The Arkham series would build on its launch in the year The Batman and explore the origins of several characters associated with the institutionbased on the idea that Arkham is a haunted house in a horror film. However, in December 2023, James Gunn revealed that the Arkham series would be set in the rebooted DC Universe, which left me a little confused.

It didn’t make sense to me that the Arkham Asylum series would be set in the DC Universe after the institution was first introduced in Matt Reeves’ The Batman Franchise. Despite it, diversity reported in July 2024 that the Arkham Asylum series was canceled. At first it didn’t bother me that much, but now this does The penguin Episode 4 offers a deeper look inside The Batmans Arkham Asylum, I’m very sad that the series focuses on the institution, be it in the DC Universe or The Batmans Universe or elsewhere, is not produced.

Arkham Asylum already has several inmates who deserve development

The Batman series’ Arkham Asylum has some powerful and frightening residents

The story of Arkham Asylum in The Batman The franchise is long and dark, with many former and current inmates already known, some of them notable characters from DC Comics. Former inmates of this version of Arkham Asylum include Sofia Falcone and the late Abby and Magpie The penguin Episode 4. Long before the Riddler was imprisoned in Arkham, his mother was imprisoned there and met her end within the walls. Batman’s own mother, Martha Wayne, née Arkham, also spent years in and out of Arkham Asylumthat belonged to her own family.

While there are probably many other former residents of Arkham Asylum that I would like to see in live-action films, the current inmates of the asylum also need to be reintroduced. Paul Danos Edward Nashton, also known as the Riddler, was imprisoned in Arkham in 2010 The Batman after waging his war against Gotham’s elite. In Arkham, Nashton met another mysterious prisoner, initially known as the “Invisible Arkham Prisoner”, but soon revealed to be the Joker, played by Barry Keoghan. I really want Keoghan’s Joker to be developed further, and an Arkham Asylum-set series would have provided the perfect opportunity for that.

The Penguin proves that more Batman spinoffs should be made

The Penguin has become one of DC’s most successful and popular projects

Until now, The penguin is the only spin-off of The Batman to complete production and be released. However, The huge success and immediate popularity of the series makes me confident that more spin-offs and sequels will be developed. While Matt Reeves is working on the upcoming one The Batman – Part IIThere have also been discussions about a series of new TV shows focusing on other villains from Batman’s rogues gallery. These reportedly include Scarecrow, Clayface and Professor Pyg The Hollywood Reporter.

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Before an Arkham Asylum series went into development, work had begun on a series revolving around the Gotham City Police Department. This series would have taken place in the first year of Batman’s career and focused on the corruption within the GCPD. That series eventually fell apart and was adapted into the Arkham series, whose cancellation I also found sad. Parts of the stories from these shows have been woven in The penguinand I think that made the series even stronger, but I would still love to see Arkham Asylum explored even more.

Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime spin-off television series of the 2022 film The Batman. Shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, also known as the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he battles his late boss’s daughter, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.

Pour

Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Michael Zegen, Carmen Ejogo, Theo Rossi

Release date

September 19, 2024

Seasons

1

Showrunner

Lauren LeFranc

Prequel

The Batman (2022)

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