The HBO Max hires Antonio Campos as showrunner for The Batman spinoff series Arkham Asylum

The upcoming HBO Max series has tapped The Staircase creator Antonio Campos as showrunner as well direct a few episodes of the series. According to a report by Variety Campos will be working with Matt Reeves on the scripts for the show.

Initially, the studio planned on making a series focusing on the Gotham City Police Department, but these plans were scrapped in favor of a series focusing on Arkham Asylum and its inhabitants.

Batman director Matt Reeves had described the series as "a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham."

"The idea, again the way that Gotham is a character in the movie, I really want Arkham to exist as a character. You go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. And so in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve, and it started feeling [like], 'Wait, we should really lean into this.' And then that's kinda where that's gone."

Arkham Asylum which houses most of Batman's rogue gallery has been the focus of many comics, series, video games, and movies. We last the famous institution in The Batman , where The Riddler encounters the Joker at the end of the movie.

While we don't know who exactly the show will be focusing on but Matt Reeves has expressed interest in exploring lesser-known Batman villains.

Reeves will also be executive produce under his 6th & Idaho banner along with Daniel Pipski and Adam Kassan. Dylan Clark will also executive produce with 6th & Idaho’s Rafi Crohn co-executive producing.

HBO Max is also working on a Penguin spinoff series with Colin Farrell reprising his role and focusing on his rise in Gotham's underworld.