This Critically Acclaimed Batman Game Needs to Be Adapted in James Gunn’s DCU

It’s an exciting time to be a DC fan. Outside of Superman and Supergirl, Batman’s sector of the famous comic universe is about to explode. The Batman Part II starts filming soon, but in James Gunn’s DCU, Clayface will be the first real look into this new shared universe’s Gotham City. This villain-centric spin-off releases in October. That’s ahead of their own Batman film, The Brave and the Bold from director Andy Muschietti and writer Christina Hodson.

The film is currently set to be based on Grant Morrison’s “Son of Batman” storyline. However, while we still don’t have a Batman for the DCU or a release date for Brave and the Bold, DC Studios might want to look outside the comics for inspiration. The perfect template for a seasoned Dark Knight would be the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Has One of the Best Stories in the Franchise

Made by Rocksteady Studio and released in 2009 for the seventh generation of consoles (PS3/Xbox), Arkham Asylum took gamers through The Caped Crusader’s longest night on the job. The story starts with Batman (Kevin Conroy) driving a captured Joker (Mark Hamill) back to Arkham after one of their many battles. However, the cynical Dark Knight thinks The Clown Prince of Crime’s defeat was way too easy. Like usual, Batman was right. The Joker wanted to get captured.

With the help of his romantic flame Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin), this smile-happy Rogue has taken over the asylum. Inmates and, eventually, some of Batman’s deadliest villains, like Poison Ivy, are let loose. They’re ready to make this crime fighter’s life a living hell. It’s up to DC’s greatest hero to take back control of Arkham and stop The Joker before his maddening scheme spreads to Gotham. While Arkham Asylum played a big role in films like Batman Begins and shows like Batman: The Animated Series, the location had only ever been fleshed out in the comics. Gamers did get to explore it a bit in games like Batman Begins’ companion title, but that was only for a single level in a much larger narrative.

Arkham Asylum became a fleshed-out living, quite haunting, character thanks to this late 2000s classic. The deadly location’s dark history made this critically-acclaimed game’s atmosphere a satisfying horror nightmare to traverse.

Arkham Asylum is a Historic DC Location Full of Ghost Stories

Gunn’s approach to the DCU thus far has been to stay away from origin stories. Especially for well-known characters like Superman. His 2025 film threw us right into the action, with the Man of Steel being established in his third year. That’s similar to Rocksteady’s approach to Batman. While games have the added advantage of telling backstory in things like audio logs and character bios, Arkham Asylum’s decrepit nature told a fresh story all its own, separate from the main narrative. The latter of which was told like it was an animated Batman film with a ton of cinematic cut scenes that never wasted Conroy or Hamill’s talent.

Arkham Asylum’s story also balances its line-up of villains extremely well. This game was full of Rogues like the previously mentioned Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, alongside fan favorites like Bane, Scarecrow and The Riddler. The game also had a ton of Easter eggs for various villains like Scareface, Mister Freeze, The Penguin and Ra’s al Ghul. Arkham acted like this morbid DC history museum. Each part of its deadly catacombs, from the rundown hospital to the hidden Batcave to the cold-feeling Intensive Treatment building will give you chills. The blood-stained walls are a far cry from Matt Reeves’ more detective noir, realistic, tone for The Batman. Especially with Amadeus Arkham’s vengeful “spirit” running around.

However, that’s perfect to differentiate Gunn’s DCU from Reeves’ elseworld story. The former has already shown that it’s a shared universe that wears its comic book references on its sleeve. Creature Commando, Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 haven’t been that different to Batman: Arkham Asylum in that regard. After a series of licensed tie-in games based on Batman: The Animated Series and films like Batman Begins, Arkham Asylum was an original tale rooted in Batman’s most iconic comic adventures. The very mature tone the game had, full of murder and panic-inducing imagery, is something that could only be found on the comic book page at the time in 2009. While Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy had a bit of that bleak approach, it always came back around to an all-ages fanfare at the end of the day.

Arkham Asylum’s Gothic Atmosphere Would Give the DCU’s Batman a Unique Identity

The other major difference Gunn can use for his Batman is the extremely gothic nature of Arkham Asylum’s world. Everything was very elongated and angular for this uncanny funhouse effect. This included Batman’s costume, which was more steam punk in its design with long pointy ears. Something that was very reminiscent of the classic DC storyline Batman: The Long Halloween by artist Tim Sale and writer Jeph Loeb. Long Halloween just so happens to be another mentally exhausting arc that tested The Dark Knight in more than one way.

Arkham Asylum’s chilling atmosphere also gives way to a compelling angle the DCU is already taking on. This beloved nightmare was a horror game. Things like the insane asylum setting, serial killers running amok and the Scarecrow fear gas sequences made players of a curtain age tremble in ways few Batman stories have ever done. Especially at that time. Even more colorful villains like The Joker, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy were given gruesome makeovers. In particular, Hamill’s Clown Prince of Crime has never been more frightful. This all lines-up with the DCU’s first Gotham-centric live-action spin-off film, Clayface.

Based on the tragic Batman: The Animated Series episode “Feat of Clay”, Mike Flanagan’s script is going to dive completely into body horror. This is the first time since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Begins, that a Batman film will pull its inspiration from the horror genre. This is a great sign for the emotionally violent tone and scream-worthy direction Gunn’s overall DCU is going for Batman. Clayface even played a huge role in Batman: Arkham City, the second game in the main Arkham trilogy. So the DCU might already be pulling elements from this rich series of games.

The Longest Day in Batman’s Life is the Perfect Premise for a Movie

Batman: Arkham Asylum could be a loose adaptation or a very faithful one. Besides the fact that the free-flow combat system and detective vision-laced stealth sections made this a legendary sub-franchise in the DC Comics universe, the story hooked fans from the very second the creepy Arkham doors opened. The simple, yet highly-effective set up of Batman being locked in Arkham overnight with his many Rogue’s Gallery members could be exactly what DCU needs to make their Batman different from past iterations. Gunn’s universe has already been confirmed to have a seasoned Caped Crusader with a son, just like the Arkham games. Whether they use the exact line-up of villains from Arkham Asylum or mix-and-match enemies from across the game series like Firefly, Mr. Freeze and Dr. Hugo Strange, this famous corrupt DC prison is the perfect location for a Batman film.

Even though Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight are arguably more beloved in the gaming community, Arkham Asylum changed the video game space for licensed properties forever. That’s all thanks to the love Rocksteady had for the source material. Arkham Asylum made us feel like Batman. Gunn’s DCU has the opportunity to do the same if they use this thrilling horror-action game as their hellish guide.