DC Studios is developing another project centered on one of Batman’s most recognizable villains, while the mainline DCU still awaits a proper introduction to the Dark Knight.
According to Deadline, a live-action Poison Ivy series is in the works, with The Penguin creator Lauren LeFranc in talks to produce. The project joins a growing collection of adaptations featuring characters associated with Batman, including Clayface and a planned Deathstroke and Bane movie.
Yet The Penguin offers an imperfect comparison. Colin Farrell’s villain had already faced Robert Pattinson’s Batman before receiving his own series. DC’s other villain-focused projects are taking shape without an equivalent foundation in Gunn’s shared universe.
The Penguin Creator in Talks to Produce Poison Ivy
LeFranc is reportedly negotiating to produce Poison Ivy rather than write it. No writers are currently attached, and HBO has not ordered the project to series.
The update follows HBO boss Casey Bloys’ September comments to Deadline, indicating that no additional DCU shows were in development beyond The People v. Gorilla Grodd.
Poison Ivy in Batman: The Long Halloween – Warner Bros. Entertainment, YouTube
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Poison Ivy, however, appears to be an existing project resuming development. According to Deadline’s latest report, “plans to move forward were on pause due to the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger.”
Despite LeFranc’s connection to The Penguin, the proposed show would not belong to Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. Whether it joins James Gunn and Peter Safran’s mainline DCU or becomes a separate adaptation remains unconfirmed. Batman’s potential involvement is also unknown.
Those distinctions matter, but the development still demonstrates DC’s continued interest in giving members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery projects of their own.
The Penguin Had a Batman Foundation
There is an understandable business argument for pursuing another villain-led series after The Penguin became a popular and critically acclaimed success.
Farrell’s Oz Cobb, however, was introduced in The Batman in 2022. Viewers had already encountered his criminal operation, watched him interact with Batman, and become familiar with Reeves’ interpretation of Gotham.
Colin Farrell as the Penguin in The Penguin (2024), Max
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His television series expanded an established world, giving audiences more of a character they already knew.
LeFranc’s involvement could benefit Poison Ivy. Nevertheless, her participation alone would not recreate the circumstances that helped her previous show connect with audiences.
Clayface, Bane, and Deathstroke Get Attention While Batman Waits
Meanwhile, Clayface opens this week as part of the mainline DCU, giving a Batman villain his own theatrical introduction before that universe properly establishes its live-action Dark Knight.
Its opening is also tracking soft. Variety reports that the three-hour documentary You Can See Everything, now entering its second weekend, could outgross Clayface. Those forecasts remain provisional.
The studio is also developing its Deathstroke and Bane movie. Deadline reports that the project is operating under the working title Savage Hunters, with Matthew Orton attached to write.
Image from the Clayface trailer – Warner Bros., YouTube
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The film has not received an official production greenlight, and there is no guarantee it will arrive before Batman’s own movie. Still, its continued development offers another example of DC investing in characters associated with Gotham while The Brave and the Bold remains without an announced lead actor or release date.
Gunn has already defended making Clayface, arguing that worthwhile films need not originate with audience demands. That position leaves a separate question about franchise priorities unresolved.
Batman’s villains offer substantial storytelling possibilities, and The Penguin demonstrated how effectively one can carry a series. Its success, however, followed a Batman film that established both the character and his world. Whether Clayface can attract an audience without that foundation remains to be seen.
With Poison Ivy, Clayface, and Savage Hunters receiving attention, audiences have reasonable grounds to expect comparable progress on Batman himself.
What do you think about James Gunn’s DC working on another Batman show without Batman? Sound off and let us know!
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