Not only are we about to get (at least) two versions of Batman on the big screen, with both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton playing different Dark Knights in The Flash, the World’s Greatest Detective is hitting the small screen as well. The catch? He’s dead. Confused? Check out the new series Gotham Knights, which is now streaming on NEON.
Unrelated to the video game of the same name, Gotham Knights sees Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan), investigating his father’s murder. To that end, he teams up with a rogue’s gallery of young vigilantes and criminals, including Robin (Navia Robinson, playing the Carrie Kelly version of the character), Bluebird (Fallon Smythe), Duela the Joker’s daughter (Olivia Rose Keegan), Spoiler (Anna Lore), and more.
Some familiar faces turn up in the wider cast, too, with Supernatural star Misha Collins as District Attorney Harvey Dent, Ethan Embry as the supervillain Cluemaster. Plus Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley, as Joe Chill, the mugger who killed Bruce Wayne’s parents back in the day.
A “next generation” Batman series is not exactly a new idea. Years ago, Birds of Prey (that’s the series, not the movie) had a trio of heroes take up the fight after Batman’s death, while the recent Titans series also focused on a new generation of heroes, even though Batman was still alive and kicking in that show (and played by Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen).
But the thing about Batman is, he casts a long, scallop-edged shadow, and the big question regarding Gotham Knights is whether the show can establish its own identity. Batman without Batman can certainly work—Gotham demonstrably has its fans—but it can be a difficult needle to thread. But hey, Gotham City is always a fun place to spend a few hours. Not sure if we’d want to live there, though.
