Riding high on the critical success of The Penguin, and with The Batman undergoing a re-evaluation, rumors have been springing up everywhere of more spin-offs from The Batman, to be set in this version of Gotham.
A Gotham P.D. project, along with an Arkham Asylum project, were already in various stages of development, then shelved. Fans were beginning to expect to see more of Batman’s rogues gallery of villains, arguably the best in all of comics, given the same treatment as Oswald Cobblepot.
At the end of last week, there was a report via the Marvel Vision podcast that claimed that Barry Keoghan was in talks to return as The Joker following his cameo in The Batman. The report said he would get his own show, as per The Penguin, then serve as the villain in The Batman: Part III which would be a franchise conclusion.
It didn’t take long for DC Studios co-chief James Gunn to shoot this rumor down. No dice, says the boss:
“Turn on Threads and everyone is asking me about this. No there is absolutely no truth to this. A Joker series is not being discussed nor has even come up at this time. Sorry.”
The Batman: Part II is planned to shoot in the New Year for a 2026 release, and a third movie to create a trilogy was always Matt Reeves’ vision. He has also publicly spoken about getting some more character-driven spin-offs moving.
Batman: The Brave And The Bold was to be the new DCU version of the cape crusader and Andy Muschietti was set to direct… then The Flash happened and things on that front have gone quiet.
Surely the way forward is clear? Let this version of The Batman play out, and let him become the DCU version juxtaposed nicely against the new, hopeful version of Superman many are expecting from Gunn.
You have one of the most interesting actors of his generation under the cape and cowl already, and Keoghan is a rising star of some note. Surely this is, as they say in minor sports, a home run?