HBO Develops Poison Ivy Series With 'The Penguin' Showrunner Lauren LeFranc

HBO is developing a Poison Ivy series with Lauren LeFranc, the showrunner of "The Penguin," on board as a producer, Variety has confirmed. The project would hand the Batman villain her first leading role on screen after nearly three decades of supporting appearances.

LeFranc comes to the project with the strongest possible credential in Warner Bros.' Batman universe. "The Penguin," which aired on HBO in 2024, marked the first live-action spinoff from a Batman movie, after Colin Farrell originated his villain in Matt Reeves' "The Batman" in 2022. The gritty gangster story won over critics and fans alike. Farrell took both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his lead performance, and the series collected several best limited series nominations.

Poison Ivy has never anchored a movie or television show. The character, a green femme fatale from the Batman comics, can control plants and often controls people's minds using seductive pheromones. Her screen history runs long despite the absence of a starring vehicle.

• Uma Thurman played her in 1997's "Batman & Robin," her big-screen debut.
• Live-action television credits include "Gotham" and "Batwoman."
• Animated appearances span "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," "The New Batman Adventures" and "Young Justice."
• Lake Bell most recently voiced the character in "Harley Quinn," where she plays the titular character's girlfriend.

What does this change for the DC slate?

The development signals that HBO intends to keep mining the Batman rogues' gallery, and it arrives amid a crowded villain pipeline. This weekend the DC Universe expands with "Clayface," centered on the shape-shifting Batman villain. That film stands apart from the world of Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves, which continues in 2028 with "The Batman Part II."

HBO has also scheduled "The People vs. Gorilla Grodd," a comedic, villain-focused spinoff from James Gunn's "Superman" movie, for sometime in 2027. A Poison Ivy series would sit alongside those titles as the studio's villain-first strategy deepens.

No casting, premiere date or writer has been announced for the project. What is clear is the pattern: after "The Penguin" turned a Batman villain into an award-winning limited series, HBO is betting that LeFranc can do it again with one of the comics' most recognizable antagonists.