HBO Max ‘Batman’ Show Loses Showrunner Terence Winter
by Erik Amaya
Trouble is brewing in Gotham City.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter has left HBO Max’s Gotham City series set in the same universe as The Batman. The reason: the old creative differences.
Back in August, Batman director Matt Reeves said the series would be set in “Year One” of the Bat-Man’s mission, but focus on the cops of the Gotham City Police Department and the overwhelming corruption within it. The lead would be one of these corrupt cops, who may or may not see the light once the masked vigilante makes his presence known. Fans of Gotham or the Gotham Central comic book series may recognize certain elements in that prompt — as it happens, THR says the program’s working title is “Gotham Central.” Winter was charged with creating a new cast of characters to populate the GCPD, but apparently his vision of the series clashed with Reeves’ intent as it continued to be developed.
The search is underway to find a replacement showrunner. Meanwhile, we continue to wonder why WarnerMedia is so resistant to a straight Gotham Central adaptation. The characters are there, it is the exact sort of “grounded” material studios always claim they want from superhero projects, and its format would be a welcome change from the more heavily serialized content on streamers like HBO Max. Maybe they’re just afraid to let Rene Montoya and Crispus Allen be the lead characters?
HBO Max’s Gotham City series is not yet scheduled for release.
