The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff Repeats The DCEU’s Worst Mistake

Penguin’s The Batman spinoff ominously hints that DCEU mistakes are happening all over again. Starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, The Batman is Warner Bros.’ most anticipated DC movie for quite some time – especially after the roller coaster DCEU. Beginning with Man of Steel in 2013, Warner launched its superhero cinematic universe with great optimism, but patchy critical reception and unspectacular box office prevented the DCEU from reaching the consistent heights of Marvel’s output. Though the DCEU’s failings are more complex than any one factor, many agree the franchise moved too hastily, whereas Marvel spent years laying their groundwork with standalone solo movies.

The Batman isn’t directly connected to the DCEU (although with the multiverse in play, anything can happen), but Warner Bros. clearly has high hopes for Pattinson’s comic book movie debut. In addition to The Batman itself, a Gotham PD show is confirmed for HBO Max, and reports now claim Colin Farrell’s Penguin is getting a streaming spinoff of his own. If true, the news is a worrying indication that those vital DCEU lessons haven’t been learned.

Arguably the DCEU’s biggest mistake was jumping headfirst into a shared universe, rather than growing slowly and allowing crossovers to occur naturally. With 2 separate The Batman spinoffs lined up before Pattinson has even thrown a Batarang, DC is repeating that same error. Even worse, a Penguin series would occupy identical territory to Gotham PD – one show from the cops’ perspective, one from the criminals’. By all means put Penguin in Gotham PD, but the overkill of 2 remarkably similar spinoffs has echoes of the DCEU’s rushed genesis. Once again, the desire to build franchises quickly is outweighing creative value.

It’s impossible to say whether DC had half an eye on their rivals, but Warner was hastily assembling its shared superhero universe just as Marvel reveled in unprecedented success borne from 2012’s The Avengers. As reports of multiple The Batman projects for HBO Max now surface, it’s interesting that Marvel is currently riding a wave of acclaim following a string of hits on Disney+. If DC tries playing catch-up with Marvel again (this time on the small screen), the outcome is unlikely to change.

Though a great many factors contribute toward Marvel’s streaming success, all MCU Disney+ shows have shared 2 key features. Each focal character is a well-established franchise name (Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon, Bucky, Loki…), and is used to introduce fresher faces (Spectrum, US Agent, Sylvie, Kang…). More importantly, each show has been distinct in style and setting. WandaVision was a twisted sitcom, Falcon & The Winter Soldier a grounded adrenaline ride, Loki is Doctor Who with jet skis, and What If…? offers animated anthology tales. DC’s reported The Batman spinoffs, on the other hand, would be near-identical in tone – and that’s without taking into account other upcoming HBO Max releases such as Batgirl and Black Canary. The Batman‘s shared universe is also in motion before fan opinion on Matt Reeves’ vision has even come in, whereas Marvel had years of background from which to develop the likes of Loki and Scarlet Witch on Disney+.

As it was for the DCEU, the key to crafting a cinematic universe out of The Batman is patience. Seeing what works and what doesn’t in Matt Reeves’ movie and then identifying potential areas for TV spinoffs. If Gotham PD and a Colin Farrell Penguin series really are in the works simultaneously, DC’s preemptive crack at a HBO Max shared universe risks starting the critical and commercial roller coaster of the DCEU all over again.