Taking place outside of the DCEU or even the universe of Joker, The Batman is set to bring a whole new story to the big screen on March 4, 2022.
With Matt Reeves writing and directing, this new Caped Crusader journey will also spark its own contained cinematic universe. A Gotham Police Department-focused show is set to be released on HBO Max following The Batman. The show, executive produced by Matt Reeves, is rumored to be prequel series that will showcase the corruption of Gotham City , with Jefferey Wright as Commissioner Gordon seems like an obvious fit to star in the show. However, there's already been a show based on Gotham City that's lead protagonist was Commissioner Gordon.
NEWS
In a recent interview with ComicBook.com , Gotham producers Danny Cannon and Bruno Heller shared their thoughts on the upcoming Gotham PD HBO Max series. Heller mentions the difference between their Gotham and the Gotham that will appear in the upcoming The Batman spin-off:
"It's going to be truer to the nastiness of what Gotham should really be, I guess."
Cannon added how their show is "very much a network show" while the Gotham PD series will be run differently.
"I think now that we've realized that streaming is the new god, I think Matt's going to have a much easier time selling the kind of show that we wanted to do, because he's got a movie with movie stars to back it up."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Warner Media was already clearly putting a lot of their stock in HBO Max, with exclusive rights to Gotham PD and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Now, the media juggernaut is releasing all of their 2021 films onto the streaming service for no additional cost, including James Gunn's The Suicide Squad .
This shift to streaming is leaving network television in an unknown place. Network TV is now often perceived as cheaper and an environment with limited creative freedom compared to streaming projects. Cannon, a network TV producer, solidified that idea when he said that Matt Reeves is "going to have a much easier time selling the kind of show that we wanted to do" in large part because of Reeve's The Batman.
The "nastiness" of Gotham is what a lot of fans are drawn to most by Batman and his rogues' gallery of villains. Through comic books, animated adaptations, and live-action shows and movies, Gotham City has become a character unto itself over the past 60 years. Despite all the previous iterations, there still seems to be an interest in another gritty look at Gotham. Fans are particularly excited after seeing The Batman trailer at DC FanDome in August .
