HBO Poison Ivy Series Reportedly in Development With ‘The Penguin’ Producer

A Poison Ivy series is reportedly in development. The Penguin showrunner and executive producer Lauren LeFranc is in talks to produce it, according to a new report.

LeFranc worked on The Penguin, but the Poison Ivy series would not connect to Matt Reeves’ The Batman films or to that spinoff show. Together those projects are called the “Batman Epic Crime Saga.” They also sit apart from Clayface, another Batman villain story, and from other DC Universe projects. Those include Superman, Lanterns, and more films and TV series.

Deadline‘s report does not say whether the show would join the larger DCU or take place in a separate universe. Superhero continuity is confusing in any medium. Just ask DC Studios co-head James Gunn.

Poison Ivy, also known as Dr. Pamela Isley, is an ecoterrorist who can control plant life. She is sometimes a villain and sometimes an anti-hero. Outside comics, her best-known appearances are in 1997’s oft-derided Batman & Robin, where Uma Thurman played her, and in the animated sitcom Harley Quinn, where Lake Bell voiced her.

The series seems to be in very early development. It has no writers yet, and LeFranc will only produce. Deadline notes that the project was paused for some time because of the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger. If it gets picked up, it would go to HBO, like The Penguin.

The Batman question

It will be interesting to see whether Batman appears in the Poison Ivy show, especially if it belongs to the DCU. Several Batman villains have led their own movies and TV series this decade without the Caped Crusader. Joker, Penguin, and Clayface are examples.

Batman has yet to debut in live action in the DCU, though he did cameo in the animated Creature Commandos show. He is slated to appear in live action in DC Studios’ The Brave and the Bold, but that movie appears to be years away.

On the subject of Batman, The Batman Part 2 recently paused filming while director Matt Reeves stepped away for a personal matter. Steven Soderbergh will now help finish the sequel, which is due in theaters Feb. 18, 2028.

Related: Clayface is a hollow horror blockbuster that wastes its best ideas

Source: Polygon