Summary
One of the most exciting things aboutThe Penguin’s successis that the HBO Max series has shown where the DCU’s splintering off fromThe Batmanand other movies could work and where it wouldn’t. And the latest episode of the top-rated show demonstrated where James Gunn and company made a misstep and where they probably made the right decision. The good news is that there’s still time to correct the misstep if they can be convinced it was indeed a mistake.
In fact, the latestThe Penguinepisode demonstrated a number of things. Not the least of which was that when it comes to missteps, the decisions by the showrunners have been almost non-existent. It sure feels like every decision they’ve made hasonly made the seriesthat much better. But while the focus on Sofia Falcone and her stay in Arkham Asylum was right for the show, it also demonstrated that those in charge were probablyright to cancel the Arkham seriesthat was planned for next year, but was canceled early this summer.
The Penguin Proves Arkham Asylum Cancellation Was Right
There was a time when it looked like a series in the same vein asThe Penguinbut centering on the inner workings and what went on in Arkham Asylum. It would almost certainly have introducedseveral well-known Batman villainsthat got a Matt Reeves-verse makeover. And there is something to be said for how interesting that would have been. A series focusing on one of the most famous Batman villains ever has certainly won over audiences. And fans of the show have been hoping to meet even more of the new look characters they already know.
However, whatEpisode 4 ofThe Penguinshowed was that Arkham is much better as a kind of looming presence in the background. It’s a villain all on its own and in its own right, it might be a Thanos level villain because in the DC universe there are few things that are more inevitable than Arkham being a place that is feared by both the bad guys and the good guys.
Arkham Asylum has a kind of persona thatwas shown off in the latest episodeof The Penguin when it turned Sofia Falcone from someone who was good and innocent into someone who was more than willing to murder her entire family. She turned into a totally different person because her time in the place.
There are only so many times the story can go that well, though. There are only so many times it can be used as a kind of foreboding presence. And it stands to reason that if there were an entire series based on the facility,Arkham would lose a lotof that mojo. Being able to really reduce the asylum down to just a building would take away what makes it such a foreboding place.
Being able to really reduce the asylum down to just a building would take away what makes it such a foreboding place.
The bottom line is that the Arkham Asylyum’s story is far from done. It’s almost certainly going to beappearing in other showsand other movies. It’s where most of the Batman villains come from and where they get put when the Dark Knight foils their plans. And because of that, it needs to keep its role as something that is quite scary and dark and unknown. Maybe that’s why the powers that be eventually arrived at the decision to cancel the show. They knew it would shed a bit too much light on the building. When Arkham is shown off one episode at a time, it’s far more effective. But while it was the right decision to cancel the Arkham Asylum show, there is another series that got the boot that probably shouldn’t have been.
Gotham PD Series Could Have Worked
It’s not a secret that there were several planned spinoffs fromThe Batman. Arkham was one of them another was a series that was supposed to focus on the Gotham City police department. The idea that Jeffrey Wright might have played Jim Gordon in a series similar toThe Penguinshould make fans drool.
Gotham PD
Canceled
According to various reports, this might have even been a kind of Commissioner Gordon origin story. For Gotham PD, it would have been a 1970s-style cop show. It would have centered on a present-day cop that begins to see the corruption in the Gotham City Police Department. LikeThe Penguin, it most likelywouldn’t have featured Batmanin any capacity, but instead, it mentioned him sporadically throughout.
While this show would have shown the world ofThe Batmanfrom another angle, it also fell by the wayside for some reason. The good news is that there is another spinoff coming at some point. Just what it might focus on is still a mystery.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.
