It appears that there’s a bit of trouble in the world of “The Batman.” No, the film is moving ahead just fine, but the first planned spinoff, the untitled HBO Max series about the Gotham Police Department, has hit a bit of a bump in the road, as the showrunner, Terence Winter, is being replaced.
According to THR, Terence Winter, the creator of “Boardwalk Empire” and writer on series such as “The Sopranos” and “Vinyl,” has departed the untitled HBO Max series inspired by the upcoming “The Batman” film from director Matt Reeves. The reason being given is “creative differences,” but there are no details about what exactly happened between Winter and the producers of the show, including Reeves.
READ MORE: Alicia Vikander To Star In Terence Winter’s ‘Dial M For Murder’ Anthology Series
As mentioned, the series doesn’t have a title yet, but it is said to be inspired by the world Reeves is creating in “The Batman,” as well as comic book series “Gotham Central” and “GCPD,” focusing on the police response to a new vigilante in town. As far as the timeline goes, “The Batman” is said to be set in the second year of Bruce Wayne dressing up and fighting crime, while the HBO Max series is a prequel, set in the early stages of Batman.
While Reeves and HBO Max seem to still be moving full speed ahead on the series, as they shop around for a new showrunner to take over, there will definitely be fans that are bummed by this news of Winter’s departure. When the series was announced, the fact that Winter was onboard seemed to give the show a bit of credibility that separated the HBO Max series from some of the other superhero shows that have been made by WarnerMedia (“Gotham” being the most obvious example of a ‘Batman’ series that doesn’t necessarily work).
Winter, as mentioned yesterday, isn’t jobless. He is now in charge of the creative side of the upcoming anthology series based on the film, “Dial M for Murder,” which has Alicia Vikander in the leading role. In addition, he’s also working on another untitled series inspired by real-life corrupt cops. So, even though he’s not working on this ‘Batman’ series, he’s still plenty busy.