In advance of the film’s October 2021 release, the universe of Matt Reeves’ (Planet of the Apes trilogy) The Batman is set to expand. HBO Max has given straight-to-series order for an all new television show about the Police Department in Gotham City, Variety has confirmed.
Currently, the series remains untitled and will launch an entirely new Batman universe connected across film and streaming, much like the relationship between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Specifically, this series will expand upon the corruption of the police force that is major element of the upcoming film. Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max and President of WarnerMedia channels TNT, TBS, and TruTV, spoke on this new universe and relationship in HBO Max’s official press release: “Our collaboration with Warner Bros. and DC allows us to elaborate and grow fan connections across these powerful brands for years to come. This is Batman as most audiences have never seen before and we know fans will want to spend more time in this new world inspired by the film.”
This will be the first project for Reeves under his new deal with the Warner Bros. Television Group. Reeves affirmed his excitement for the series in that same press release: “This is an amazing opportunity, not only to expand the vision of the world I am creating in the film, but to explore it in the kind of depth and detail that only a longform format can afford — and getting to work with the incredibly talented Terence Winter, who has written so insightfully and powerfully about worlds of crime and corruption, is an absolute dream.”
Terence Winter is notable for his work as a writer on other crime-drama shows such as Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos. Winter won 4 Emmys for his work on The Sopranos, which is oen of HBO’s biggest hits of all time. He will write the new series and executive producer alongside Reeves, Daniel Pipski (Marlowe), and Adam Kassan (Black Mass). Rafi Crohn (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) will be co-executive producer.
This new series will be unconnected to the previous Fox Television Gotham series. Neither the air date nor the date for the start of production have been announced at this time. The teaser for The Batman, starring Robert Patterson (The Lighthouse) as Bruce Wayne, is available to watch on YouTube.