Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, says future TV spin-offs will continue The Penguin’s tone, forming ‘an epic crime saga’.
One of the things we like about Matt Reeves’ time in the Batman director’s chair is just how deeply he’s thrown himself into the wider world of the Dark Knight. As well as delivering maybe the most sylised take on the character with The Batman (although surely Tim Burton and collaborators still have a say in that debate), Reeves has involved himself in many areas beyond his films, including animation such as Batman: Caped Crusader and the live-action spin-off TV show, The Penguin, which develops the world of The Batman further, delving deeper into Gotham City’s crime-ridden underbelly.
There were supposed to be other shows accompanying The Penguin too, including an Arkham Asylum-focused TV series and a Gotham Police Department show, but at some point in development, these were put on ice, which is a shame as both offered lots of potential. Reeves still has ideas about further TV shows that flesh out his world, though.
Speaking to Alfred Pennyworth actor Andy Serkis for Interview Magazine, Reeves said: “We have been talking about doing other shows. I wanted to make sure that we didn’t do the origin tale, which so many of the other series have done. I think the idea of being able to put a lens on these characters is a really exciting idea.”
Read more: The Penguin episode 1 review | Welcome (back) to Gotham
The filmmaker added: “It’s about cities and their dysfunction and the world and its dysfunction, which is what Batman stories are all about. They’re all about Gotham being a place that should be better. And you can have the experience of this almost novelistic epic crime saga, but you also just get these separate experiences. They have their own dramatic value. So Oz’s story [in The Penguin] is Oz’s story, and the idea is to do these other stories in the same way.”
That certainly sounds promising, and we’re hoping that we see more TV shows come to fruition from Reeves during his time as creative overseer of Batman. The Penguin has picked up strong reviews and that surely means that the filmmaker will have momentum on his side as he seeks to set up new projects in the future.
