Gotham Knights and multiple genre shows have been given the green light to go to series by The CW.
The Batman spinoff’s go-ahead comes just weeks after the network unexpectedly canceled Batwoman after three seasons. Other Arrowverse cancellations include DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Naomi, the latter suffering from low ratings. With these creative decisions, only Superman & Lois and The Flash are the remaining shows on The CW with the continuity established by Arrow.
Gotham Gets New Knights For The Future, While Winchesters and Walker Look To The Past
The description of Gotham Knights establishes that this show does not share the Arrowverse continuity. According to sources, the jumping-off point is the murder of Bruce Wayne. Further, the children of Batman’s infamous rogues gallery are framed for the crime, and the city itself suffocates from the rise in crime. It falls on the shoulders of Bruce’s adopted, unidentified son to unite these offspring to clear their names and change the direction of their lives as the new guardians of Gotham City; its new “Gotham Knights.” The description also deviates from the video game of the same name, albeit with a similar Bruce Wayne death premise. The series is to be produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. James Stoteraux, Chad Fiveash, Greg Berlanti, David Madden, Sarah Schechter, and Natalie Abrams are Co-Executive Producers. The pilot script was co-written by Abrams, Fiveash, and Stoteraux, and the pilot itself will be shot and executive produced by Danny Cannon. Regarding casting, the only confirmed addition to the cast is Supernatural Alum Misha Collins as Harvey Dent/Two-Face.
Speaking of the beloved brothers-on-the-road horror series, other shows coming to the network have a strong foothold in the equally popular Supernatural and Walker franchises. Further, one has an Arrowverse connection.
Executive produced by Dean Winchester himself, Jensen Ackles, his wife Danneel, and fellow alum Robbie Thompson, The Winchesters is a prequel series focusing on the courtship of Sam and Dean’s parents, John and Mary. Drake Rodger has been cast as future demon hunter John Winchester, while Meg Donnely will portray the ill-fated matriarch of the family, Mary Campbell. The series will follow not only their romance but their dive into the world of demon hunting. Supernatural examined the couple’s early years in the fourth season episode “In The Beginning,” which saw Amy Gumenick play Mary and Matt Cohen as John. The episode established the revelation that it was Mary’s side of the family, in fact, that had a history of demon hunting, which flipped the dynamic completely given the present-day John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was the driven mentor for his sons following his wife’s murder.
On the other end of the pond, the Jared Padelicki-led reboot of the Chuck Norris CBS series, Walker, Texas Ranger is getting its origins examined, and its protagonist is a very familiar face to Arrow fans, in Walker: Independence, based on a story idea by Sam Fahey. Co-executive produced by Fahey, Larry Teng, Anna Fricke, and Padelecki himself, Kat McNamara, known for her work as the second Green Arrow, Mia Queen, plays Abby Walker. Set in the late 1800s, Abby is a Bostonian who loses her husband before her eyes while traveling to the West. The series follows Abby’s quest for vengeance, which causes her to cross paths with scoundrel Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr) along the way to the town of Independence, Texas. The town itself is to be populated by diverse occupants choosing to escape their own respective traumas, and Abby and Hoyt are to become “agents of change” in the fate of that town.
While it is confirmed these shows have pilot orders, there is no scheduled release date for any of these, so stay tuned.
Official Source – ‘Gotham Knights’, ‘Walker: Independence’ & ‘The Winchesters’ Picked Up By The CW – Deadline
