Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s Batman universe finally has a name, and it’s probably the name of an old friend of yours. Maybe. Sort of.
Currently, DC Films co-CEO James Gunn is building a new DC Cinematic Universe, which will kick off with Superman next year. However, there are several movies based on DC works that are popular enough to deserve their own sequels despite having nothing to do with the old or new DCU. These movies are set in DC’s alternate universe. These projects have no connection to the DCU but are still adapted from DC works. Joker 2 will be released later this year, and the story is set in a chaotic little corner of Gotham City. Of course, the sequel to Batman is also coming soon. Before these two movies are released, however, Batman will launch a TV series spin-off in the form of The Penguin, which will be released in September of this year. Now, director Matt Reeves has a name for his Gotham work: BECS.
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You remember Becs, right? Rebecca, the one you were super close with in science class before the events of The Expanded Universe? Well, just like Becs is short for Rebecca, BECS is short for “Batman’s Epic Crime Saga,” a title Reeves shared in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. Hearing the name, you might think Reeves and his producing partner Dylan Clark wanted to kick off an entire universe project — and you’d be absolutely right. As mentioned earlier, the Expanded Universe starts with the penguins.
Reeves was also working on an Arkham Asylum series at the time, as well as a Gotham City Police Department show, but those were ultimately shelved. [The Batman]and I was like, ‘Hey, you know what? I feel like we could make some cool shows,'” Reeves told Entertainment Weekly. “That’s actually why I wanted to do the deal with Warner Bros.” HBO executives apparently provided some guidance, though, Reeves continued, “They said, ‘We like what you’re doing, and we want to focus more on the big-name characters. ‘”
However, The Penguin also clearly incorporates some elements of Gotham City PD. “Interestingly, in the movie, the biggest misdirection of the story is that the person the Riddler is referring to seems to be the Penguin, some kind of informant. The movie creates a power vacuum, and because the Penguin is so underrated, people really don’t know who he is.”
Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc also explained that the upcoming series is “a bridge between the first Batman and its sequel,” with the Colin Farrell-starring series taking place a week after the events of Batman and “leading almost directly into Matt’s planned second film.”
Clark also shared, “We’re also going to be doing another exploration for television,” explaining that they’re “looking at the whole world as it relates to Batman — the villains around them, all the crime that has to be dealt with in the city — and trying to figure out the best areas to explore.” No clarification was offered here, but if you’re a Batman fan, it sounds like you’ve got a lot to look forward to.