Arkham Asylum HBO Max Series Lands The Staircase Showrunner Antonio Campos
It has been one heck of a week for DC, and things are continuing to happen as we speak. "Black Adam" finally hit theaters last weekend and topped the box office in its debut, Henry Cavill is officially back as Superman, and we just found out that James Gunn and Peter Safran are going to be the co-heads of what is now called DC Studios. On top of that, a new report indicates that a long-gestating project has lined up a new showrunner.
According to Variety, Antonio Campos, creator of the true crime series "The Staircase," has been tapped as the new showrunner of the Arkham Asylum TV show set in "The Batman" universe. The news comes as Matt Reeves, who directed this year's blockbuster starring Robert Pattinson, is looking to expand his Bat-verse in a big way. Not only are we getting a sequel to the movie, but we have several shows in the works for HBO Max, including this one and a Penguin series starring Colin Farrell. Not to mention the supposed villain-centric movies that might be brewing. It's a lot.
As for this show, it originated as a series that was going to be focused on the Gotham City Police Department, but over time evolved into a show about Arkham, the famous institution for the city's most dangerous criminals. When it was a Gotham PD show, Terence Winter ("Boardwalk Empire") had been heading up development, but he bailed over creative differences. Then Joe Barton ("Girl/Haji") stepped in, only to walk away once the series evolved into something else. Perhaps Campos will have the magic touch.
Many questions remain
We know that Reeves is going to executive produce the show (which does not yet have a title), with Daniel Pipski, Adam Kassa, and Dylan Clark also on board as executive producers. The show has no official synopsis yet, nor has any cast been announced. But it has been described as having more of a "horror" vibe. Is it possible that the likes of Paul Dano's Riddler or Barry Keoghan's Joker could show up? Absolutely! But that's all theoretical right now. Much remains up in the air.
Meanwhile, Campos helmed the hit show "The Staircase" for HBO Max, and he also worked on the long-running series "The Sinner." Dark and gloomy crime seems to be right up his alley, so this makes a good deal of sense. The one big question mark right now is just how much say Gunn and Safran will have over stuff in "The Batman" universe and just how much they are going to want to change things in the DCEU as it currently exists. Are projects like this in any danger with new heads of DC taking charge? It's too early to speculate, but it's certainly something to at least consider.
The untitled Arkham Asylum show does not yet have a release date set.