‘Poison Ivy’: ‘The Penguin’ Creator Officially Working on New Series About Batman Villain!!

Two years ago, The Penguin became a critical and commercial hit on HBO. This week, Clayface will ooze on to movie screens everywhere. And now, another one of Batman’s classic foes is coming to the screen in their own solo project at DC Studios and Warner Bros, and it’s coming from one of the creators who made The Penguin into a crossover success.

Lauren LeFranc was the showrunner on The Penguin, a spin-off of 2022’s The Batman that centered around Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell), a disfigured gangster who clawed his way to the top of Gotham’s underworld. She’s no stranger to genre TV, having written several episodes of the ABC MCU series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and showran the series Impulse, about a teenager with teleportation powers.

Now, Deadline reports that LeFranc is set to develop a new series based on the Batman foe Poison Ivy. LeFranc will executive produce the series, but will not write it; a search for a writing staff is in the works. The series is also looking for its lead actor. Unlike The Penguin, the new series will not be in-continuity with Matt Reeves‘ The Batman and its upcoming sequel; it’s unclear if that means it will be set in the new DCU alongside Superman, Lanterns, and Clayface.

Who Is Poison Ivy?

First introduced in 1966’s Batman #181, by Sheldon Moldoff, Robert Kanigher, and Carmine Infantino, Poison Ivy was originally just a femme fatale, but was eventually revised into a super-scientist and eco-terrorist. Dr. Pamela Isley is a brilliant botanist whose biochemistry has been altered, allowing her to commune with nature and control plant life; she can also poison and mind-control those she touches. The character is often depicted in a relationship with fellow Batman foe Harley Quinn. The character hit the silver screen in 1997’s Batman and Robin, in which she was portrayed by Uma Thurman; more recently, she turned up on Gotham, played by a succession of Clare Foley, Maggie Geha, and Peyton List. In the realm of animation, she was voiced by Diane Pershing in the classic Batman: The Animated Series, and by Lake Bell on Harley Quinn.