https://youtu.be/FnUkN3h9yQw
The CW has released the first trailer for their upcoming ‘Gotham Knights‘ series, which is due to premiere in 2023 on the US network.
‘Gotham Knights‘ is set in the wake of Bruce Wayne’s murder, where his rebellious adopted son forges an unlikely alliance with the children of Batman’s enemies when they are all framed for killing the Caped Crusader. And as the city’s most wanted criminals, this renegade band of misfits must fight to clear their names. But in a Gotham with no Dark Knight to protect it, the city descends into the most dangerous it’s ever been. However, hope comes from the most unexpected of places as this team of mismatched fugitives will become its next generation of saviours known as the Gotham Knights.
The series stars Oscar Morgan (‘Masters of the Air’, ‘Warren’) as Turner Hayes, Bruce Wayne’s adopted son; Fallon Smythe (‘Lost in the West’, ‘S.H.R.I.E.K.’) as Harper Row; Tyler DiChiara (‘Relish’) as Cullen Row; Olivia Rose Keegan (‘High School Musical: The Musical – The Series’) as Duela Dent; Navia Robinson (‘Dora the Explorer’, ‘Raven’s Home’) as Carrie Kelley; Misha Collins (‘Supernatural’) as Harvey Dent; Anna Lore (‘All American’) as Stephanie Brown; And Rahart Adams (‘Foursome’) as Brody.
I think it would be fair to say, the reaction to the trailer when it was released last night on social media has been… mixed…
The main positive comments seem to revolve around the casting of Misha Collins as Harvey Dent. That has gone down well, especially (as you would expect) with ‘Supernatural’ fans. I’m a huge fan of Misha, and he is a lovely human being, so I would agree it is great seeing him back on screen. However… there were a lot of negative remarks…
Firstly, the choice to create a random new character as Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, when they had a string of in-canon characters they could have used (Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Duke Thomas, or Bruce’s actual son Damian Wayne), seems to have upset DC fans. It was a weird choice to make and unnecessarily alienates the fanbase.
Secondly, this doesn’t have any connection to the other Arrowverse or Gotham-based shows, despite it coming from team-Berlanti. Moreover, they specifically crafted a story where it would be very difficult to tie it to existing shows. When you have a plot which is basically “Batman is dead, who will protect Gotham?”… Well, you had Batwoman protecting Gotham until recently, so what happened to her? That means it has to be in a separate universe. The CW spent years setting up a world which told fans the DC shows don’t live in a vacuum and are interconnected, and now they have thrown that all away.
Other comments revolved around the weird obsession “Hollywood” seems to have with replacing redheaded characters with non-redheaded actors; How it looks like a cheap version of ‘Titans’; And seems to be taking plot points from Marvel’s ‘Runaways’. Plus general comments about the quality and editing in the trailer. There is also still anger out there at the fact that both ‘Batwoman’ and ‘Legends Of Tomorrow’ were cancelled to allow this show to be made in the first place.
Overall, the negative comments seem to very much outway the positives. Also, from a marketing perspective, naming the show ‘Gotham Knights’, when there is also a totally unconnected video game coming out with exactly the same name means the two projects are battling it out for position on social media and on search engines… Just weird choices all around this series. Honestly, they could have just given Misha Collins a show sitting in a chair reading bedtime stories (which I would totally watch btw) and it would probably have got just as much of a positive reaction.
The series comes from Natalie Abrams, James Stoteraux, and Chad Fiveash, who all worked on ‘Batwoman’. Stoteraux and Fiveash, who also worked on ‘Gotham’, exec produce along with Berlanti Productions Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and David Madden. Abrams co-executive produces.
‘Gotham Knights‘ will premiere on The CW in 2023. There is no UK broadcaster at the moment but if you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
