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After Warner Bros. announced that HBO Max would merge with discovery+ beginning in Summer 2023, fans were worried about the fate of the streaming service’s original series. Notably, the cancelation of Batgirl raised concerns among DC Comics fans. Since HBO Max had axed the upcoming DC movie, what did that mean for projects like The Batman spinoff series?

Colin Farrell, who is set to star in 'The Batman' spinoff series on HBO Max, wears a light gray suit.
Colin Farrell | Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

HBO Max is planning 2 ‘The Batman’ spinoff shows

Before The Batman premiered in theaters on March 4, 2022, Warner Bros announced that they would be producing two spinoff series that would air on HBO Max. One would focus on the Penguin, played by Colin Farrell, and the other would center around the Gotham City Police Department. However, the production company axed the GCPD series after reworking it into a show about Arkham Asylum.

Little is known about the Arkham series, but The Batman director Matt Reeves explained the concept to The Cyber Nerds.

“We’ve actually now [moved] more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham as it relates coming off of our movie and some of the characters and their origins. It’s like a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham,” he said. “The idea, again, the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character. You go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh.”

As for the Penguin spinoff show, Lauren LeFranc is the showrunner, and Reeves will executive produce the project. Farrell will reprise his role as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin from The Batman in the HBO Max series and serve as an executive producer. The streaming service officially ordered the spinoff as a limited series in March 2022. Its working title is The Penguin.

HBO Max announces filming date for ‘The Batman’ spinoff series

Although HBO Max has yet to unveil new information about the Arkham series, The Batman spinoff centered around the Penguin has an exciting update. According to Deadline, the upcoming show will begin filming in February 2023.

So as far as The Penguin goes, fans have nothing to worry about. And the Arkham series is still in development. HBO Max seemingly has faith in its The Batman projects, and it won’t be long before The Batman universe expands.

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Colin Farrell teases the upcoming series

During an interview with ComicBook.com, The Batman star Colin Farrell previewed his upcoming HBO Max series.

“[Lauren LeFranc] has some extraordinary ideas,” he said. “And it’s just that it’s kind of an amazing character to explore, his kind of awkwardness, and his strength, and his villainy, yes, his propensity for violence. But there’s also a heartbroken man inside there, which just makes it really tasty.”

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Farrell also shared that Matt Reeves has a lot of say about the spinoff show.

“Matt’s up to his bollocks, you know, hovering over the keyboard and just planning the story because he’s just so meticulous,” the actor explained. “He’s so obsessive about what he does, but he’s all over [HBO Max’s] The Penguin [series] as well. I mean, he’s not gonna direct it, but he’s all over the structure of the scripts and who’s gonna direct them. And so, it’s exciting.”

The Batman is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

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