‘Poison Ivy’ And ‘Catwoman’ Almost Got Their Own Shows, But DC And HBO Said No

DC Studios has spent the better part of three years trying to figure out exactly what its television future looks like, and that process has been far messier than fans initially expected. James Gunn and Peter Safran walked into their new roles in 2023 with an ambitious, sprawling slate of movies and shows meant to finally give the DC Universe the kind of connective tissue Marvel built over a decade.

That early wave of announcements included big swings, spinoffs built around fan favorite characters, and prequels exploring corners of the DC mythos that had never gotten serious screen time. Not everything survived the transition from pitch meeting to production, and the list of casualties keeps growing.

According to Film Updates, citing a new report from The Ankler, standalone series centered on ‘Poison Ivy’ and ‘Catwoman’ were reportedly pitched to DC and HBO at some point during this development process, and both were turned down. The report frames the rejections as part of a larger pattern of DC and HBO passing on ideas as they narrow their focus.

The same Ankler report, published just days before ‘Lanterns’ begins streaming on HBO Max, reveals that two previously announced DC series are no longer moving forward at HBO. ‘Waller,’ a spinoff built around Amanda Waller with Viola Davis expected to reprise the role, and ‘Paradise Lost,’ a prequel set on Themyscira exploring the Amazons before Diana Prince became Wonder Woman, have both reportedly died after years in development.

The report indicates that Gunn, Safran and HBO chief Casey Bloys have been sorting through which projects deserve to move forward, with other ideas falling by the wayside along the process. That context makes the ‘Poison Ivy’ and ‘Catwoman’ rejections feel less like isolated decisions and more like evidence of a much tighter creative filter at DC Studios these days.

Not every project from that original slate has been abandoned. ‘Booster Gold,’ another series from the original Chapter One announcements, remains in development despite going through its own creative shake ups after its original creative team departed. Meanwhile, ‘Lanterns,’ starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre and created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, is finally set to premiere on HBO Max this Sunday, August 16, after nearly seven years of development.

All of this is unfolding against a chaotic corporate backdrop. Warner Bros. Discovery is currently in the middle of a proposed acquisition by Paramount Skydance valued at roughly 111 billion dollars, a deal that remains tied up in regulatory and legal challenges affecting Warner Bros., HBO Max and DC Studios. There is no indication the ‘Poison Ivy’ and ‘Catwoman’ decisions were tied to that merger, but the uncertainty hovering over WBD only adds another layer of intrigue to DC’s shrinking television ambitions.

For fans who have wanted to see Pamela Isley or Selina Kyle get their own dedicated spotlight outside of a Batman focused property, this is a disappointing update, even if the door theoretically remains open down the line. What kind of story would you have wanted a ‘Poison Ivy’ or ‘Catwoman’ solo series to tell if either had actually made it to screen?