HBO Max is bringing the Batman heat with a spinoff series, Gotham PD, which will focus on police commissioner James “Jim” Gordon. Gotham PD is a prequel to Matt Reeves’ 2022 Batman film, which is itself sort of a prequel since it’s set during the first year of the superhero’s career as a crime fighter. Reeves is producing, and Joe Barton is the showrunner.
When thinking about a Gotham-focused show, it’s easy to assume it will be influenced by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker’s Gotham Central as inspiration, but not so fast. As noted by Batman News Reports, Brubaker gave the lowdown on the project to Kevin Smith on the Fatman Beyond podcast to spill what he knows about the project.
“They’re making sure that they don’t call it Gotham Central, and it’s more of a spinoff from the movie. It’s like the James Gordon show,” Brubaker said. “I was like ‘maybe they’re really going to make Gotham Central this time,’ and so I reached out to a producer who works for Matt Reeves and he says, ‘no, that’s not really Gotham Central.’”
Brubaker also suggested that actor Jeffrey Wright (who plays Jim Gordon in Reeves’ film) may be attached to the spinoff, but no official casting information or other details are available.
If it feels like whiplash, I don’t blame you. CW’s Gotham television show ended only two years ago, and now there is talk of doing it again. Maybe they are bringing something different to the table? I surely hope so!