Fox’s prequel of sorts to the Batman saga (both comic and film), ‘Gotham,’ is one of the highest profile new shows coming this fall. The series will follow the rise of rookie detective James Gordon played by Ben McKenzie who is partnered with the “corrupt” and “violent” Harvey Dent played by Donal Logue. The show kicks off with the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, an incident that sends the city spiraling into a dark place, where gangsters and criminals rise to power.
Fox has released a new featurette that explores the world of ‘Gotham’ which executive producer Bruno Heller describes as “not a comic book world” but a “real world only heightened.” He also explains that the series will showcase the rise of the super villains that will eventually overcrowd the city. Already revealed have been new character Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith) and comic favorites The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Taylor), The Riddler/Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Carmen Bicondova) and Poison Ivy/Ivy Pepper (not Pamela Isley, played by Clare Foley). But Heller hints at an even bigger reveal… The Joker. The Joker without Batman? Guess we’ll have to see how that plays out.
For more nuggets of info about this new series, check out the behind-the-scenes video below:
Of course, also part of the action is Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena), Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara) and Crispus Allen (Andrew Stewart-Jones). In the comics, Barbara Kean is James Gordon’s first wife and the mother of his kids, the… uh insane James Junior and Barbara, who later becomes Batgirl. Sarah Essen is his second wife who, in the old continuity, died during the ‘No Man’s Land’ storyline. Renee Montoya is a major Batman supporting character, one of the few openly gay characters in comics and served as The Question briefly. And Crispus Allen operated as The Spectre for a period… I’m assuming they will not be pursuing that particular storyline.
Fox Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly spoke about the series and compared it to ABC’s troubled series ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ “This is conjecture on my part, but I think they struggled to find the creative footing,” he said, “Also, those weren’t the actual franchise characters.
“When you get these franchises with some built-in profiles in it and anticipation, the burden is that the anticipation and the build-up can exceed the delivery. While I felt like we had something potentially really huge in ‘Gotham’, you’re always nervous that it won’t live up.”
But he assures that any fears were dispelled once the pilot was finished. “The concerns about whether it will live up to its promise were put to rest when I saw it a month ago,” he said. “It really feels like it knows what it is and the real selling point to me, on ‘Gotham’, right from the get-go, was that these are the actual series franchise characters.” Albeit younger prequel versions.
What do you think? Are you excited to see the world of ‘Gotham’ brought to the small screen?
Sources: Slash Film, Digital Spy