In the original announcement, Fox‘s drama Gotham was described as the origin stories of Commissioner James Gordon and the villains who made Gotham City famous. Fox chairman Kevin Reilly today announced that the series will include all of the classic Batman villains as well as heroes, including young Bruce Wayne. “The show will track Bruce from a child (around 12 years old) until he puts on a cape (in the finale),” he said. Also on tap are the Riddler, Catwoman, the Penguin. “We will see how they get to become what they are as Gotham is teetering on the edge,” Reilly said. “It is an operatic soap with a larger than life quality.” Reilly also confirmed that Gotham, originally bought with a series commitment, has a greenlighted pilot (Danny Cannon is directing), and is setting up a writers room in mid-February with the full intention to go to series. The series hails from Warner Bros TV and The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller.
via Deadline
PREVIOUS, 3:34 PM: It is a big day for Warner Bros TV and DC Comics. On the heels of Fox confirming its Batman drama Gotham is going to series this morning, NBC has greenlighted a pilot for Constantine, a drama based on the characters in DC Comics’ John Constantine stories. The project, which had a script commitment with penalty, is written/executive produced by The Mentalist executive producer Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer, the go-to writer for Warner Bros’ feature DC adaptations. Constantine centers on John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond.
John Constantine, who first appeared in 1985 as a recurring character in the horror series The Saga Of The Swamp Thing, was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and Jamie Delano. He was portrayed by Keanu Reeves in the 2005 feature Constantine and is rumored to be featured in the Justice League Darkfeature Warner Bros has in the works with Guillermo del Toro.
In addition to Gotham, Constantine joins Warner Bros TV/DC’s The Flash at the CW, a spinoff from hit Arrow exec produced by Berlanti, which is shooting a pilot. Goyer has co-written The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman Begins, Man Of Steel and the upcoming Batman vs. Superman. On TV, he is the creator/executive producer of Starz’s Da Vinci’s Demons. Cerone is the creator/executive producer of Canadian drama Motive, which aired on ABC this summer.
via Deadline