The Batman Spinoff Writer Recalls Reaction To Getting Fired From Gotham PD
Joe Barton, the writer behind the untitled Batman spin-off series (referred to as Gotham PD) that got shelved, opened up about being fired from the project. Gotham PD was going to be a spin-off series to Matt Reeves' The Batman. It is a prequel to The Batman and focuses on the Gotham Central Police Department. Plans for the series were first revealed back in 2020. Meanwhile,The Batman premiered on March 4, 2022, and received mostly positive reviews. The film introduces Robert Pattinson's Batman and offers a darker take on the character, which resonated well with audiences.
Reeves has been open about wanting to create an entire Batverse. The Batman 2 is already in the works and a Penguin spin-off show has been greenlit by HBO Max. Likewise, the Gotham PD series was also going to be a component of Reeves' Batverse. Barton was chosen as the showrunner after Terence Winter left the show over creative differences. However, on March 6, 2022, Reeves confirmed that the Gotham PD series would not be moving forward. Instead, that idea evolved into an entirely new series focused on Arkham Asylum.
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In an interview with The Telegraph, Barton opened up about being fired from Gotham PD. Barton explained that he had given the script for the spin-off to HBO Max and that they loved it. Then, several months later, his agent called him to tell him he had been fired from the project. To add insult to injury, he was fired just two months before The Batman was released. Hence, Barton was saturated with The Batman marketing while dealing with being fired from its franchise. Check out his statement below:
I gave the script over in November and HBO called to say they loved it and they were
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