Turns out “The Penguin” wasn’t the only spin-off of “The Batman” Matt Reeves wanted to bring to TV. In addition to the Arkham Asylum project developed by Antonio Campos and later shelved, “Boardwalk Empire” creator and “Tulsa King” showrunner Terence Winter also had plans on collaborating with Reeves on a series focusing around Gotham City Police Department. A similar series called “Gotham” starring Ben Mackenzie as a pre-Lieutenant Jim Gordan ran on Fox for five seasons, but in a recent interview on The Playlist’s “Bingeworthy” podcast, Winter said his version would have had a period element that set it apart.
“The idea was that we were going to do a 1970s cop show — something that felt like [Sidney Lumet’s 1981 crime drama] ‘Prince of the City,’ but in the Gotham City Police Department,” Winter said. “It was going to have that [‘70s] feel. 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. 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.”
Like his earlier film “Serpico,” Lumet’s “Prince of the City” is based on a true story and follows an officer in the New York Police Department who decides to expose corruption taking place amongst his ranks. Starring the late Treat Williams, the film went on to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and has been cited as an influence for another Batman project, Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” Unfortunately, Winter’s vision didn’t seem to gel with the world Reeves has been building up.
“I worked on it for a while. And ultimately, you know, Matt wasn’t feeling it,” said Winter. “And I left; I know they brought in another guy after me. 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.’”
Winter’s replacement was actually British screenwriter Joe Barton, known for “The Lazarus Project,” but he wasn’t on the project long. Having seen the show now, Winter admits Reeves did well with “The Penguin” and was right to stay true to his vision of what he wants out of the franchise.
“Sometimes, you’re in sync creatively; sometimes, you’re not,” Winter said. “Or you get off on the wrong foot thinking, ‘Oh, we should do this’ and go, ‘Oh, you know what, this is just not really working.’ Also, because there was ‘Gotham,’ the show Gotham certainly took place in New York City, in the Gotham City Police Department, rather. [It] kind of stepped on the toes of our idea a little bit, even though ours was going to be totally very different. I think ‘Penguin’ is great. I agree with you. I think they did a great job.”
For now, Winter will keep his focus on his hit Paramount+ series “Tulsa King,” which just began airing its second season. But if the success of “The Penguin” is any indication, we may have more tales of Gotham in store ahead.
