More than two years have gone by since The Batman premiered in 2022 to show off just what Robert Pattinson brings to the role of the Caped Crusader. While the sequel isn't scheduled to release for another two years, fans with Max subscriptions had reason to be excited about the universe of this Batman expanding on the small screen. The Penguin TV show is expected in fall of the 2024 TV schedule, and an Arkham Asylum series was in the works. Unfortunately, the Arkham show is no longer happening at Max, leading to a lot of fans with the same concern about the next Batman movie.
The Arkham Asylum Cancellation
The news that the Arkham Asylum series isn't moving forward comes courtesy of Variety, which reports that the version of the series helmed by Antonio Campos (known for The Staircase and The Sinner) is no longer in development. The project would have been set in the same cinematic universe as The Batman. While a different project set in Arkham reportedly isn't out of the question, the expected incarnation isn't happening after all. You can scratch this project off the list of upcoming Batman movies and TV shows.
The show was originally announced back in July 2020, and later reveals about it as it evolved led to speculation that it would be similar to Fox's Gotham, although presumably far less goofy than how that series ended. Now, fans who have been anxiously awaiting the sequel to The Batman are evidently feeling even more anxious (or at least pessimistic) about that movie actually happening.
What Fans Are Predicting For The Batman: Part II
After the success of The Batman back in 2022, it seemed inevitable that a sequel with Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight and Andy Serkis as Alfred would happen, but a lot of the most recent news hasn't been great. Back in March, the expected release date was pushed back from October 2025 all the way to October 2026 in the wake of the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike.
Colin Farrell's The Penguin was still on the horizon, but there was more bad news from Andy Serkis in June when he shared that he knows nothing about the movie other than that filming is expected to start in early 2025. The comments would have been encouraging, if not for the fact that the man playing Alfred knows nothing about the movie!
All in all, it's hard to blame fans for seeing the news of the Arkham Asylum show being axed and assuming the worst about The Batman: Part II. Many of them took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to vent, and the below comments seem to be the consensus:
- @MartyMcTweet: "Just announce The Batman 2 is cancelled so we can act accordingly please [.] But they’re going hold onto this info to stop people from boycotting Superman Legacy lol"
- @SandyRegion: "Not looking good for The Batman 2."
- @SnyderQueen_: "So like... yall still confident about The Batman 2?"
- @ThisIsHow1Win: "I'm seriously starting to doubt if The Batman Part 2 will even come out. I've lost hope."
- @AkkiZac019: "The Batman 2 is so canceled"
All in all, I think it's safe to say that fans need a positive update about The Batman sequel ASAP in light of the news about the TV show not moving forward. It strikes me as unlikely that the movie is going to be cancelled with the stakes as high as they are and fans as eager as ever, but it's hard to say for sure in the entertainment industry in recent years. Remember what happened to Batgirl?
For now, you can always revisit the 2022 film streaming on Max now, and look forward to the arrival of The Penguin before the year is out.
