The original writer of The Batman's canceled Gotham PD spinoff series recently opened up about why the project was shelved.
Matt Reeves and his team were planning to do another spinoff series of The Batman that would have centered on a corrupt young policeman in the Gotham City Police Department.
After multiple behind-the-scenes changes, the project was eventually shelved and they decided to not push through with the idea. Meanwhile, another spinoff The Penguin ended up getting the greenlight.
The Batman's Gotham PD Spinoff Writer Opens Up About the Project's Cancellation
In a recent interview, Terence Winter, the original writer of the Gotham PD project, addressed his involvement in The Batman spinoff and what his original idea was when he was working on the potential series.
"The idea was that we were going to do a 1970s cop show— something that felt like [Sidney Lumet’s 1981 crime and police drama Prince of the City, but in the Gotham City Police Department. It was going to have that [‘70s] feel," he revealed.
"It was going to be a present-day cop who is like a third-generation Gotham City cop, you know, his grandfather, his dad, and, you know, and Gotham City was largely corrupt. And this is the guy we meet in the present day who’s realizing that he’s kind of on the wrong side."
Winter continued, "The Batman was somebody that lived in that world, but you never really saw him. And it was really all about the police department and sort of this guy."
The project ended up getting canceled after Reeves decided to take a different direction and not pursue the project anymore.
"And I worked on it for a while. And ultimately, you know, Matt wasn’t feeling it. And I left; I know they brought in another guy after me," Winter added.
"I can’t remember his name, the guy who did Tokyo Vice. He worked for a while on it, but that didn’t go anywhere. I have no idea what he did. And then I read about The Penguin."
Despite the creative differences and the eventual cancellation, Winter has no hard feelings at all and he praised Reeves and his team for the work that they did in The Penguin.
Recently, it was confirmed that more spinoff shows from The Batman universe are still coming, and it would be interesting what other ideas will they pursue to expand the franchise.
What do you think of Winter's explanation of the cancellation? Let us know in the comments!
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