With overall production on the Matt Reeves reboot The Batman reported to resume soon, more info has come out from the world that the Planet of the Apes director/writer is building. While some of the most recent news isn't directly related to the 2021 film itself, it's been announced that Reeves and creator of HBO's Boardwalk Empire Terence Winter will create an HBO/HBO Max original TV series centered around Gotham City Police Department.
In the official announcement, it's been said that this is a project intended to expand a greater Batman universe across multiple platforms. With that, here are five characters we want to see in the HBO Max series and five that should be avoided.
10 Want: James Gordon
This is undoubtedly the biggest want--perhaps even need--in terms of the cast of major characters for the upcoming GCPD police procedural drama. In terms of Gotham's police department, James/Jim Gordon is the face of the police. He's even one of Batman's most iconic allies/friends. It would be a big missed opportunity if Jeffrey Wright isn't cast in at least a significant supporting role.
However, given that he's already going to be a supporting role in The Batman, it would be a shame not to have him be the main protagonist here. Gordon would serve as the perfect lens to view the roots of Gotham's aggressively-corrupt nature on all fronts: the police department itself, political entities, etc. Since the series will take place before the film, we could see a freshly hired Gordon against the odds.
9 Avoid: Joker
Despite being among the best villains/supervillains in modern fiction, Joker has become oversaturated to an extent even though Joaquin Phoenix recently gave a superb portrayal. He's often relied heavily on as being the main antagonistic force in Batman stories, and while audiences have been graced with masterclass performances, general audiences going to major theatrical films and even live-action TV may be burnt out.
To some it could easily be seen as far too soon to bring another live-action Joker. Plus, it would be a shame to have Joker used without Batman as a compliment and vice versa.
8 Want: Batman (Used Moderately/Sparingly)
First and foremost, yes, this is a Batman show, but Bruce Wayne/Batman himself is not the central focus. But it could still be pulled off if Batman is present in the show if used moderately and sparingly as to not take away from the main protagonist(s) of the GCPD itself. Gotham eventually dove deeper into Bruce Wayne and him coming into his own, but at the expense of the GCPD figures to a degree.
In addition, people didn't really need to see Bruce's origins again and spread out across a long-form story. While the show is reportedly taking place before the film, it could still have an established (yet novice) Batman present. If used modestly, he could be a good occasional supporting role.
7 Avoid: Ra's Al Ghul
Given the little information we know about Reeves' upcoming film and this GCPD drama, no one can definitively say this universe/timeline within the greater DC universe including decades of media across multiple platforms will not have any supernatural elements. At the same time, based on the information we do have, it looks like this world likely won't incorporate these kinds of elements (at least not for now).
Therefore, while Ra's al Ghul is another excellent supervillain in Batman's rogues' gallery, having a man who can live for centuries via the Lazarus Pit would break the potential realism and Nolan already did a live-action grounded Ra's.
6 Want: Harvey Bullock
Assuming this GCPD live-action series does have James Gordon as a major character--as a beat cop/seasoned veteran--a good supporting role to help complement the long-time Batman ally could be Harvey Bullock. Like in The Animated Series, Bullock is generally a well-meaning cop who works with Gordon, but questions the latter's alliance with Batman and begrudgingly complies with this arrangement.
Audiences could see Gordon perhaps initially condemn Batman, gradually accept, befriend, and work with him while having Bullock as the staunch anti-Batman cop to create some deeper, interesting conflict and dialogue between the two officers.
5 Avoid: Hugo Strange
Hugo Strange is a fascinating and thrilling enemy to Batman as he isn't one that is a physical threat to him so much as he is a psychological one. Likely his most notable portrayal was in being one of the two main antagonists of Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City video game. He has a deep obsession with the Dark Knight on a psychological level, believing to truly understand the darkness that drives him in a sort of sick and sadistic fascination.
Yet, this new series perhaps shouldn't use this character if he is to be a major villain to the GCPD. He's a character that should be saved for a Batman-centered story and Gotham already used him, with the show also being one where Bruce Wayne/Batman isn't the intended focus.
4 Want: Sal Maroni
Based on the limited information regarding the 2021 film, the only confirmed Italian mob-boss is Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro). There are still some actors attached to unannounced roles, but we currently do not have Sal Maroni cast in the film.
Falcone is arguably the more popular of the two crime families, but Maroni played a good role in comic books like The Long Halloween and in Nolan's The Dark Knight (even if it was a small role). If Falcone is to be the bigger focus in the film, Maroni could be a good antagonist in a GCPD-focused series intended to highlight the roots of Gotham's violently-corrupted underbelly.
3 Avoid: Talia Al Ghul
By extension of not including Ra's, his daughter Talia al Ghul should also be avoided since she'd likely necessitate his narrative inclusion. In adding her into the series, it would also create an issue somewhat similar if Hugo Strange was present as a major antagonist since Talia's connection is extremely deep with Bruce Wayne and not with the GCPD itself.
In addition to having already been adapted in live-action film in 2012, should the creative team behind this upcoming series deem Ra's unnecessary or nonsensical in the world being built here, the core concept of Talia would also make little-to-no sense.
2 Want: Victor Zsasz
This particular supervillain has had two live-action film portrayals in Batman Begins and in the recent Birds of Prey, but he could be a great antagonist in a case for a potential Gordon and company to solve. While already being in the aforementioned films, his role was minuscule in Begins and while decently more important in Birds of Prey, he still wasn't a prime focus.
A sadistic serial killer coupled with a savior complex could make for a thrilling detective plot. He's a villain good enough to be a strong--probably supporting--role in a Batman-focused story, but minor enough in importance when compared to other rogues to be a great central villain for the GCPD.
1 Avoid: Professor Pyg
Similar to Zsasz, Professor Pyg is another deeply-disturbed serial killer with cruel and evil philosophical views on the world. Particularly, he has twisted views on human beings. He views humans as inherently broken, yet believes to "fix" them by lobotomizing, castrating, and brainwashing his victims into "Dollotrons."
Pyg could be seen as unnecessary here as Zsasz already fits the unhinged serial killer role well, potentially better, and is better known. While the pig-masked villain makes a good, intensely-dark antagonist, depicting his abominations run the risk of coming off as tasteless/needless if written poorly and Gotham recently covered him.