Poison Ivy Reportedly Getting Her Own DC Series as THE BATMAN Universe Expands
After the huge success of The Penguin, it looks like Matt Reeves could be expanding his corner of DC with another villain-focused story. This time, the spotlight may belong to one of Batman's most dangerous and fascinating foes, Poison Ivy.
According to Jeff Sneider, who shared the scoop while appearing on The Hot Mic with John Rocha, a Poison Ivy series is reportedly in development and will be set in Reeves' Batman universe, just like The Penguin.
That's all Sneider had to say, so there aren't any story details or casting rumors to dig into yet. As always, this should be treated as a rumor until DC Studios makes it official. But if there's any Batman villain who deserves another shot in live-action, Poison Ivy is right near the top of the list.
Reeves already proved with Colin Farrell's Penguin that he can take a familiar comic book villain and completely reshape how audiences see them. His version of Oz Cobb became one of the most compelling characters in Gotham, and it's easy to imagine Poison Ivy receiving the same thoughtful treatment.
The character has had a strange history on screen. While Poison Ivy has always been one of Batman's biggest villains in comics, movies haven't exactly done her many favors.
Uma Thurman's fun performance in Batman & Robin became iconic for all the wrong reasons, arriving just as the comics were reinventing Ivy into a much richer character.
Over the years, she evolved from a femme fatale into something far more interesting. She became an elemental eco-warrior whose fierce devotion to protecting the natural world often puts her at odds with humanity.
Animation embraced that evolution long before live-action ever had the chance. Diane Pershing delivered a fantastic performance in Batman: The Animated Series, Tasia Valenza gave gamers an awesome version throughout the Batman: Arkham games, and Lake Bell helped turn Ivy into one of the breakout stars of Harley Quinn. That series also fully embraced her relationship with Harley Quinn after years of buildup in both animation and comics.
So what kind of story could Reeves tell that feels different? If the rumors and the direction of his Gotham are any indication, horror seems like the obvious answer.
The Penguin already showed just how ugly and violent life in Gotham can become. The Batman pushed things even further, drawing inspiration from Saw and Se7en to create one of the darkest versions of the Riddler we've ever seen. Poison Ivy could easily take that unsettling atmosphere to another level.
There's certainly plenty of source material to work from. Whether she's nearly beating Batman to death with a mind-controlled Superman in Hush or unleashing the terrifying pitcher plant sequence in Harvest, Poison Ivy has shown she can be just as frightening as any villain in DC's lineup. Even Absolute Poison Ivy fully embraces an intense horror-inspired version of the character.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, so fans shouldn't get ahead of themselves. But the idea fits with what DC Studios has already been doing.
The upcoming Clayface movie is also expected to lean heavily into horror despite existing in James Gunn's brighter DC Universe, showing the studio isn't afraid to experiment with genre depending on the character.
That's one of the most exciting things about DC right now. Gunn's DCU can deliver colorful superhero adventures with Superman, Supergirl, and Creature Commandos, while Reeves continues building a Gotham that feels grounded, unsettling, and full of damaged people.
If this rumor turns out to be true, Poison Ivy could be the perfect character to continue expanding that world. She's one of Batman's greatest villains, she's long overdue for a proper live-action reinvention, and Reeves has already shown he knows how to make Gotham's rogues feel fresh again.
Now we'll just have to wait and see if this rumor grows into something official.