Posted in: Max, Movies, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: arkham, dc studios, dcu, james gunn, Penguin

James Gunn Further Clarifies "Arkham" Pitch/Proposal Timeline & More

James Gunn responded to a fan still confused about Arkham and its pitch/proposal timeline, and shared that he's seen some "The Penguin" eps.

Last month, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn looked to clarify some question marks surrounding Matt Reeves's "Arkham Asylum" series and whether or not it was ever intended to be set in the Robert Pattinson-starring The Batman universe ("Elseworlds") or was always planned for the DCU. When asked back in December if the series was always planned to be a DCU series, Gunn responded, "Yes. It was one of the first pitches we bought when Peter [Safran] and I came onboard. I don't know the permutations it went through before that time" (with Gunn noting "it wasn't changed" in another response). Our theory was that if Gunn & DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran were pitched the series at the start of their run, and Gunn wasn't aware of what went on with the project prior to that, that means the decision to shift directions on the project from "Batverse" to DCU could've been made prior to Gunn & Safran getting involved.

Apparently, some fans are still looking for some clarity – in this case, regarding the timelines of when the proposal made its way to the duo – with one fan claiming a contradiction between two of Gunn's previous comments. Not sure of where the confusion was coming from, Gunn responded, "When I made the announcement back in January, it wasn't proposed to us yet. Yet it was one of the first projects pitched to us. Only [James] Mangold's 'Swamp Thing' and a couple other things were pitched before that. How do you see that as contradictory?"

And as an added bonus, Gunn also shared that he's seen "all the episodes so far" for the Colin Farrell-starring "The Batman" universe series The Penguin:

Back in 2022, Reeves confirmed that his previously-announced spinoff series focusing on Gotham City PD was on hold and that a series focusing on Arkham Asylum had "evolved" out of it. When Reeves' spinoff project was still focusing on the GCPD, Terence Winter was set to write and executive produce, but Winter would depart months later over creative differences. From there, Joe Barton (Giri/Haji) was brought on to tackle the project, but Barton would depart the project when the focus shifted to Arkham Asylum. In October 2022, it was reported that Antonio Campos (HBO's The Staircase) had boarded the project as its new writer, and to direct episodes, serve as showrunner & executive produce. Reeves is set to executive produce the Arkham Asylum project under his 6th & Idaho banner alongside Daniel Pipski and Adam Kassan. Dylan Clark is also set to executive produce with 6th & Idaho's Rafi Crohn on board to co-executive produce. Warner Bros. Television will serve as the studio, which is where Reeves currently has an overall creative deal.

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