With The Batman breaking box-office records and winning the hearts of most fans and critics, the hype for continuations of Matt Reeves’ new take on the Caped Crusader has flown through the roof. We already knew that Matt Reeves was planning two sequels and WB gave the go-ahead to two HBO Max spin-off series, but one of those series is now taking a radical shift in direction.
Gotham PD Is Under Construction
The Gotham PD show which was initially intended to focus on the corruption of Gotham City’s police force long before Batman was said to be being reworked to focus on Arkham Asylum instead. However, in an interview with the Happy, Sad, Confused Podcast, Matt Reeves put things a bit more bluntly:
“One thing that we’re not doing that I was gonna do… So, there’s the Gotham police show, which, that one actually is put on hold. We’re not really doing that.”
A project originally given the working title of Gotham Central was nixed after its showrunner Terrance Winter departed, but up until very recently it was believed a new series exploring the Gotham City police force would still go ahead. Especially given that one of the main themes of The Batman is the corruption of Gotham City and that Batman has only been on the block for 2 years when we first meet him in the film, it would have been interesting to see what a show further exploring said corruption within the Gotham PD could be under Reeves’ hand.
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It wouldn’t have been the first television series set within the Gotham PD (that being Gotham, which ran for 5 seasons from 2014-2019), but it’s still a big what-if.
But hope is not lost. The prequel series focusing on Colin Farrell’s Penguin as he ascends through the criminal underworld is still set to go and Reeves stated elsewhere that the Gotham PD show has changed focus to instead be a look at the infamous Arkham Asylum:
“The GCDP thing, that story has story has kinda evolved. We’ve actually now [moved] more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham as it relates coming off of our movie, and some of the characters… almost leaning into the idea of… it’s like a horror movie or a haunted house that is Arkham.”
The Batman featured a quick scene in Arkham Asylum near the end that teases the future introduction to one of Batman’s greatest villains. Still, if what Reeves said is true and it was intended as a teaser instead for the new Arkham show, that would make complete sense.
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Warner Bros clearly knows they’ve got an ace in the hole right now with Matt Reeves’ version of Batman and will do all they can to keep up the bat-mentum for as long as they humanly can. The numbers were so good that WB head Toby Emmerich stated that all future DC films would be “director-driven” affairs, which is ironic when you consider that the original DCEU was largely promoted as being more director-driven to compete with Marvel’s MCU way back when:
“The secret of the movie business is quality. It’s the best business strategy for both theatrical motion pictures and superhero movies. The movies don’t have to all have the same tone, or interlock with other DC movies, or have an Easter egg that sets up another film. Quality is the most important factor for a studio, and the biggest thing you can do to influence quality is the filmmaker that you hire.”
Whether Reeves further explores the corruption of Gotham in upcoming films or in a TV series later down the line, the mystery of what Gotham PD might have been will always remain. If you’re absolutely itching for a show detailing Gotham’s police force though, I again recommend Gotham, currently streaming on Netflix in the US.
What are your thoughts on Gotham PD being cancelled? Are you excited for the Arkham TV show? Have you seen The Batman yet, and if so, how many times? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter. We at The Illuminerdi will keep you updated on all things The Batman and Gotham PD as they swoop from the shadows.
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Source: Indie Wire
