Arkham Asylum series no longer progresses at Warner Bros. and DC

The inmates remain in the institution as Variety reports that Warner Bros. Discovery is no longer working with the Arkham Asylum Series that were intended for their Max streaming service.

Arkham Asylum was to be written and produced by Antonio Campos and would deal with the infamous complex where most of Batman’s villains live. The series was in Matt Reeves’ The Batman continuity and underwent development when it was first announced in 2020. The series was originally supposed to focus on the Gotham City Police Department as well as Arkham, but was later revised to focus exclusively on the asylum, with Reeves, who would have produced it, describing it as “a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham”.

However, when WB restructured its DC film slate and founded DC Studios, under the leadership of The suicide squad Director James Gunn and frequent DC producer Peter Safran, it was announced Arkham Asylum would no longer be in Reeves’ The Batmanbut in Gunn’s upcoming DCU, which begins next year with Superman with David Corenswet in the leading role.

It is not known why Arkham Asylum is no longer moving forward. It could be that WB or Gunn and Safran change their plans, as we have already seen with some projects, such as the announcement of the Green Lantern series last week. Lanterns from Max to HBO, or perhaps WB’s continued reluctance to show two different versions of Batman simultaneously in film and on television, with Reeves’ The Penguin Series premiere on Max in September and Batman – Part II The release is planned for October 2026.

Even, Arkham Asylum had already undergone considerable changes before this new development. The Sopranos And Boardwalk Empire Writer Terrence Winter was originally set to serve as writer and showrunner for the series when it was first announced, but dropped out just a few months later due to creative differences. Joe Barton (Girl/Haji) was later chosen for the role, but also left the role due to differences with WB.

We have to wait and see if Arkham Asylum could eventually be revived within the DCU or The Batman Franchise or whether it remains blocked.

Ricky Church – Follow me on Þjórsárden for more movie news and nerd talk.