GOTHAM TV Series Will Follow Bruce Wayne's Journey To Become Batman; Appearances Of Iconic Villains Confirmed [UPDATED]

When it was announced that Fox was developing a Gotham television series, it was said that the focus would be on a younger James Gordon and iconic Batman villains. However, the Dark Knight himself wouldn’t appear. Well, at TCA today, new details reveal that this will still be a very Batman-centric series. Fox chairman Kevin Reilly confirmed that a 12-year-old Bruce Wayne will feature in the show, and will actually end with his becoming Batman. “The show will track Bruce from a child (around 12 years old) until he puts on a cape (in the finale).” Additionally, Reilly revealed that we will see The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and Catwoman in Gotham. He adds, “We will see how they get to become what they are as Gotham is teetering on the edge. It is an operatic soap with a larger than life quality.” Finally, while a pilot has been greenlit, there are definite plans to move forward into a full series, as it has been ordered with a series commitment.

This is certainly exciting news. Perhaps Gotham will serve as a prequel for the DC Cinematic Universe’s take on Batman, who will make his debut in 2015’s Batman vs. Superman? That would be an ideal way to go, in my opinion. Gotham is said to be undergoing production in March, and will likely premiere on Fox next fall. More news will likely come soon. [Via Deadline]

UPDATE: We have more quotes from Kevin Reilly regarding Gotham, via IGN.

Regarding the evolution of Bruce Wayne into Batman, Reilly confirms that the same actor who plays a 12-13 year old Bruce will grow into the role of the Dark Knight by the series’ end. “The actor will grow-up, if we do our job well he’ll be a young man and ready [to be Batman] by the end, which isn’t to say we might not skip ahead.” He also describes the show’s characters as “how they all became who they were, what events led up to these characters becoming Catwoman [and so on].” Reilly goes on to discuss how the network has access to the Batman franchise rights, saying that Gotham “backs up” the franchise. “We own all the rights.That’s what we’re licencing. They brought us the entire franchise for a very healthy licence fee. We’re not negotiating this piece meal. We have all of the underlying Batman rights for the entire franchise for this series. That’s what I like about this, it’s not some sort of adjunct companion series. This is the Batman franchise, just backing it up. I think that gives it a real focus as to what the show is about and what stories we’re telling.” And for those hoping that the series will be connected to the DC Cinematic Universe, Reilly says that that’s not the plan. “Warner Brothers manages the entire franchise and its one of their top global franchises of all. So there will be an awareness of both and we’ll have to coordinate when we’re in the market place, but the productions are not piggy-backing off one another.”

Gotham‘s tone will be in line with what was seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, and is said to be “very organic” to that universe. Reilly says that the show is building up to not only Bruce Wayne suiting, but also its villains. “We’re arcing to that. We’re not starting in that world where the villains are in costume. You see markers for it that are kind of delicious. You begin to see the evolution of the eccentricities that become those characters, but you really sort of arc there. We don’t start out in capes and costumes.” Plus, could any of these characters spin-off? Reilly “certainly hopes so”, and adds, “Do I think we’ll peel out The Riddler? I don’t. There’s a large tapestry of characters to service over many years. So I hope we can just keep it on for a long, long run.” Finally, the Fox chairman says that no decisions have been made concerning a premiere date or how many episodes exactly will be produced, but suggests that Warner Bros. is interested in making it 22 episodes long.