Lauren LeFranc, the creator and showrunner behind HBO’s The Penguin, is reportedly in talks to produce a new television series centered on DC Comics villain Poison Ivy. According to Deadline, which broke the story Wednesday, the project is in development at Warner Bros. and DC Comics and would be separate from Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. Variety has since independently confirmed the report.
What’s being reported
Deadline says it has been tracking the Poison Ivy project for months, and that plans to move forward were paused while the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger played out. The latest development is LeFranc’s name entering the frame — as a producer. Per the trade, the series would go to HBO if it gets a pickup, which it does not yet have.
That “if” is doing real work. Nothing here has been announced by HBO, Warner Bros. or DC Studios, and Deadline’s reporting is sourced, not official. As of now, this is a development project with a high-profile name circling it.
Producer, not writer
The most important detail in the report is the one most likely to get flattened on social media: LeFranc would be producing the series, not writing it. Deadline is explicit that no writers are currently attached, which means there is no script, no showrunner and no stated creative direction for the show yet.
That’s a meaningful distinction. LeFranc’s run on The Penguin — the Emmy-winning limited series that spun Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb out of The Batman — made her one of the most sought-after voices in the Gotham space, and she’s since signed a two-year overall deal with HBO and launched her Acid and Tender Productions banner. A producing role could mean anything from heavy day-to-day involvement to a supervisory credit. Until a writer is named, it’s premature to describe this as “LeFranc’s Poison Ivy show.”
Why “not the Reeves universe” matters
For most of 2026, the Poison Ivy rumor mill assumed the character was headed for the grounded, crime-saga world of The Batman and The Penguin. Deadline’s sources say otherwise: this series would not be part of Reeves’ continuity, where Robert Pattinson plays the Caped Crusader.
Two things to flag. First, that separation is itself a reported detail, not a confirmed one. Second — and this is where we’d urge restraint — “not Reeves” does not automatically mean “James Gunn’s DCU.” DC has run self-contained projects outside both banners before (HBO Max’s Harley Quinn being the obvious Poison Ivy-adjacent example), and Deadline’s report doesn’t say where this one would sit. It would, however, join an HBO slate that already includes Lanterns on the DC side. We’ll update when someone with a title says so on the record.
What’s still unconfirmed
- A series order. Deadline frames HBO as the destination if the show is picked up.
- A writer or showrunner. None attached.
- Casting. No one has been cast as Poison Ivy, per Deadline — any names you see this week are wishlists, not reporting.
- Release or production timing. None exists.
- Which DC continuity, if any, the series belongs to.
Poison Ivy, briefly
Pamela Isley first appeared in Batman #181 in 1966, created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, and has grown from a femme-fatale footnote into one of DC’s most layered characters — a botanist turned eco-extremist whose relationship with Harley Quinn is now a core part of her modern identity.
On screen, she’s been played by Uma Thurman in Batman & Robin (1997); by Clare Foley, Maggie Geha and Peyton List across Fox’s Gotham; and by Bridget Regan in The CW’s Batwoman. Lake Bell voices her in HBO Max’s animated Harley Quinn, the most prominent recent version of the character. A live-action series built around her alone would be a first.
The Nerd Wire will update this story as HBO, Warner Bros. or DC Studios comment. For more on where DC’s screen slate stands, see our roundup of every DC announcement from NYCC 2026.
Source: Deadline
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