HBO Max’s series about a corrupt Gotham police officer based in the world of Matt Reeves’ The Batman appears to be no more.
Reeves made the announcement on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast.
“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,” he said.
The show, which was being billed as a prequel to The Batman. was to be led by Reeves and Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter. It promised to show how the early days of Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader impacted the corrupt Gotham City Police Department.
“It wasn’t going to be a Batman story,” Reeves explained. “It was going to be about this corrupt cop, and it was going to be about how the worst gang in Gotham were the GCPD. And [Bruce] would have touched paths with [Commissioner] Gordon. It would have been someone to measure him against, but it would be a battle for his soul. … They [HBO Max] didn’t not like the idea, they just wanted to center a show on a character who was more… I get it.”
Reeves said he hopes that “maybe someday” he can revisit the idea of a project focused on the GCPD, but for now he’s looking at some of the more established DC characters. HBO Max announced last year that Colin Farrell will reprise his role as the Penguin in a series, which Reeves has since compared to Scarface and The Long Good Friday. That show is in its pilot stage right now, with Lauren LeFranc handling the script. Reeves hinted that there’s “a possibility” further characters from The Batman could show up in the series.
The Batman has been met with a warm critical reception, and recently secured the second best pandemic era opening with $128.5 million at the domestic box office. It has since grossed over $258 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
