Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II finally has some wind behind its sails. HBO Max’s The Penguin was even better than the first movie, but the fact remains it’s been nearly four years since The Batman‘s release, and it’s time to catch up with Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight. And, come October 1st, 2027, we’ll get the chance to do just that. We’ll also be introduced to whoever Scarlett Johansson is playing, and the rumor mill has been working overtime on that particular casting announcement. But even more intriguing is the newest addition of another MCU veteran (who himself is actually still a part of said cinematic universe). That would be Sebastian Stan who, like Johansson, is in talks to play an unspecified role in the sequel.

Toss in the fact that Barry Keoghan’s Joker is expected to come back in an expanded role and The Batman: Part II is shaping up to be one of 2027’s most exciting films. However, it would be even more so if we could see Doctor Arkham. Just as The Penguin scratched the itch between parts one and two, the presence of Doctor Arkham could scratch the itch of those who were really hoping the axed Arkham Asylum HBO Max series would come to fruition.

What Happened to Arkham Asylum & Just Who Is Doctor Arkham?

image courtesy of dc comics

Like The Penguin, a Gotham PD series was announced as an HBO small-screen spin-off of Reeves’ big screen movies. Unlike The Penguin, the Gotham PD series, which morphed into an Arkham Asylum series, was cancelled before cameras even got rolling. It would have seen Jeffrey Wright return as Jim Gordon but, don’t worry, because we’ll still see his take on the trusted Gordon in The Batman: Part II.

That said, there’s also a chance Wright wouldn’t have been in it. As we all know, the DCU and the universe of The Batman are entirely separate. This Arkham Asylum series, or whatever its final title would have been, was only initially supposed to be in the same world of The Batman. Then, in 2023, it became a DCU project. Cut to a year or so later and James Gunn said it got the axe.

However, we could very well be getting a better look at the inside of Arkham Asylum in The Batman: Part II. When Johansson was cast, one of the theories swirling was that she would be playing Astrid Arkham, the daughter of Jeremiah Arkham. Astrid’s mother, Ingrid, died not long after Astrid was born due to a thrown Batarang. And, while that Batarang was actually thrown by an Arkham inmate, Astrid forever told herself it was Batman who killer her mother. She grew up to become the Arkham Knight and went on a revenge-fueled crusade to bring him down.

It’s been strongly hinted at that the sequel is going to have multiple villains, just like the first movie. So, let’s say Johansson is Astrid Arkham. What would her father, Doctor Arkham, have to do with the whole plot? Jeremiah, the head of Arkham Asylum, is described as a sadist in the comics, but like most interesting villains he feels his motivations are pure. In his mind, he’s acting on behalf of the benefit of his patients. He also ends up becoming the second version of Black Mask. That’s the type of father who could warp his child into having just as much blind rage as he has.

So, in essence, you would have a father-daughter pair of vigilantes who hold Pattinson’s Batman responsible for something, perhaps even the death of Ingrid. Maybe it wasn’t an inmate who threw that Batarang but Batman as he was trying to hit someone else. Not to mention, parent-child villain duos are always inherently interesting, and the closest a live action Batman movie has come to that is alluding to Ra’s al Ghul and Talia al Ghul’s bond in The Dark Knight Rises.

Reeves has been clear that one of his goals was to bring in a villain never before seen in a Batman movie. We’ve of course seen Joker before, but not Doctor Arkham and the Arkham Knight. A revenge tale certainly seems like something that would fit nicely in The Batman‘s grounded world. We’ll just have to find out when we get closer to October of next year.

In the meanwhile, which villain (or pair of villains) would you most like to see in The Batman: Part II? Let us know in the comments.