The Batman continues to move forward as the highest grossing film of 2022. Not moving forward is its HBO Max spinoff series.

The show was originally announced in June of 2020. Director Matt Reeves released a statement on his vision for the series, which read,

“The series will build upon the motion picture’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City, ultimately launching a new Batman universe across multiple platforms. The series provides an unprecedented opportunity to extend the world established in the movie and further explore the myriad of compelling and complex characters of Gotham.”

Reeves was set to collaborate with Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter as well as Warner Bros Television. He wanted the series to focus on Arkham Asylum and potential corruption in the Gotham City Police force.

He continued,

“This is an amazing opportunity, not only to expand the vision of the world I am creating in the film, but to explore it in the kind of depth and detail that only a longform format can afford. And getting to work with the incredibly talented Terence Winter, who has written so insightfully and powerfully about worlds of crime and corruption, is an absolute dream.”

Now, the show has been shelved. On this week’s episode of MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the director revealed that they would not be going forward with the show, despite the success of the Batman film.

He stated,

“One thing that we’re not doing, that I was gonna do, is the Gotham police show, which, that one actually is put on hold. We’re not really doing that."

Reeves didn't reveal exactly why the series was scrapped, or if it had anything to do with the controversial nature of police shows today, but says that the door is open to revisit the idea in the future.