The Batman director Matt Reeves (War of the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) revealed a few story details for his upcoming HBO Max TV series based in the Caped Crusader’s universe, via Deadline. During DC FanDome’s virtual event Saturday, Reeves told fans the show would be set before the events of the film, from the perspective of a crooked cop.
“The story is actually a battle for his soul,” Reeves said via Deadline. The movie starring Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse, Twilight) explores Batman’s early years as he attempts to solve a slew of murders. The series will be a prequel to Reeves’ upcoming film and examine Gotham police just as stories of a masked vigilante begin to surface. The show will be set in Batman Year One, whereas the film follows Batman Year Two.
According to Deadline, the TV show was announced back in July as part of Reeves’ overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. He will executive produce the series along with Dylan Clark (Bird Box) and Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire). Winter will write the script. There is no air date set.
Batman has a long televised history in both live-action and animation. Adam West (Family Guy) was the playboy millionaire for two seasons in the 1966 live-action TV series. The show fared as a comedy with its colorful cast of villains and comic book action captions. Decades later, Fox’s Gotham explored Detective Jim Gordon’s oath to solve a young Bruce Wayne’s parents’ murder. Starring Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland) and David Mazouz (Touch, The Darkness), the show aired for five seasons.
In the 1970s and 80s, we saw the hero join other DC characters in the animated Super Friends as part of Saturday morning cartoons. In 1992 a more mature portrayal of the character debuted in Batman: The Animated Series which aired for four seasons. It starred the voice acting of Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Killing Joke) as Batman and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) as The Joker. Since then several animated adaptations have aired including Batman Beyond (1999), Justice League (2001), Justice League: Unlimited (2004), The Batman (2004), and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008).