Summary

The Batman film introduced a darker, more realistic version of Batman, which received critical praise and made over $700 million at the box office. The upcoming Arkham Asylum spin-off series will now be part of the DCU continuity instead of the Elseworlds setting of The Batman. While there is little information about the plot or characters of the Arkham series, it could potentially feature new versions of classic Batman villains in a dark and haunting setting.

While the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran brought a lot of attention to the DCU, Warner Bros. Pictures obviously has some other branches of the DC franchise that are still very alive and kicking. As well as the upcoming sequel to Joker, there is also a whole universe being built around Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which made quite an impact on cinemas and has a number of spin-offs in development. One of those will be based around the infamous Arkham Asylum, but it seems that the direction of the series is now heading towards Gunn and Safran’s DCU continuity.

The Batman introduced a darker, less fantastic iteration of the Dark Knight, played by Robert Patterson as a younger and less technically advanced version of the superhero. Taking its cue from Batman’s original detective status, the film was a gritty noir thriller that took many fans by surprise, especially those who have been used to seeing Batman as part of the Justice League or swooping around the skies of Tim Burton’s dark fantasy version of Gotham City. However, the film pulled in a lot of critical praise, as well as over $700 million at the box office, and that means, as well as a sequel, the movie is getting a number of spin-offs.

After being initially pitched as a Gotham PD series, that show was reworked to set its focus on another iconic Gotham location of Arkham Asylum. Although the series is definitely still moving forward, James Gunn has confirmed via his Threads account, that the series is now going to be part of the DCU instead of the Elseworlds setting of The Batman. According to Gunn, this was alway going to be the case, as can be seen in the image below.

Related: Arkham Spin-off Series: Which Batman Villains Do We Want to See?

Will Arhkam Asylum Feature Classic Batman Villains?
DC Comics

When it comes to the future of The Batman’s universe, there is not a lot of information known about plot, characters or where the whole story could be heading. Matt Reeves certainly has a vision for his iteration of the DC hero and the world he inhabits, but with the Arkham series seemingly sitting outside this, then the look and feel of the show is now even more enigmatic than it was before.

Arkham Asylum has been a constant location in Batman lore, with many of the city’s most violent and mentally unstable criminals residing there. So are we likely to see many new versions of classic Batman villains walking the halls of the institution?

Currently, there is no word on who could appear in the Arkham Asylum series, although Reeves has hinted that it could be a very dark show, having described it as a “horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham.” While the Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman have already appeared in The Batman, the DCU status of the series it would probably be unlikely that any of these major villains would appear. However, there are many more villains to be found in the pages of Batman comics that could easily find their place in the show, and there could possibly be connections made to the new Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold.