New Poison Ivy Series in Development from The Penguin Producer

Get ready for more Batman villains to step into the limelight. A new series centered around Poison Ivy is reportedly in the works, with Lauren LeFranc, the showrunner and executive producer of The Penguin, in discussions to produce it.

While LeFranc has ties to The Penguin, this Poison Ivy series will not be linked to Matt Reeves’ The Batman films or its spinoff, The Penguin, which are collectively known as the “Batman Epic Crime Saga.” Instead, these narratives will stand apart from other DC Universe projects, including Clayface and titles like Superman and Lanterns.

The report on this developing series hasn’t clarified whether the Poison Ivy show will tie into the broader DC Universe or exist in its own separate realm. Superhero continuity can be a tangled web, as DC Studios co-head James Gunn can attest.

Poison Ivy, also known as Dr. Pamela Isley, is a complex character who oscillates between villain and anti-hero, wielding the power to control plant life. Outside of comics, she’s perhaps best known for her role in the 1997 film Batman & Robin, where Uma Thurman portrayed her, and in the animated series Harley Quinn, voiced by Lake Bell.

Currently, the Poison Ivy show is in the very early stages of development, with no writers attached yet; LeFranc is set to produce. The project faced delays due to the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. If it moves forward, it will likely air on HBO, similar to The Penguin.

It will be intriguing to see if Batman makes an appearance in the Poison Ivy series, especially if it’s part of the DC Universe. Several of Batman’s foes, like the Joker, Penguin, and Clayface, have taken center stage in various films and shows without the Caped Crusader this decade. While Batman has yet to make a live-action appearance in the DC Universe, he did have a cameo in the animated Creature Commandos series. He is expected to return in live action with DC Studios’ The Brave and the Bold movie, although that project seems to be quite a ways off.

In other Batman news, filming for The Batman Part 2 has recently been paused as director Matt Reeves steps back for personal reasons. Steven Soderbergh will now assist in completing the sequel, which is scheduled to hit theaters on February 18, 2028.

Another significant misstep for James Gunn’s DC Universe.