It’s easier than ever to find Batman movies and TV shows these days, from Robert Pattinson’s version of the Caped Crusader beating up bad guys in The Batman, to the HBO Max series Titans spotlighting Bruce Wayne and many of the Dark Knight’s allies. Over at The CW, Batwoman recently concluded its third season, and there’s a Gotham Knights show in development for the same channel. We’re now learning who will make up the main cast of this DC project, and one of those characters is someone brand new being depicted as Bruce Wayne’s adopted son.
Gotham Knights (which is not a Batwoman spinoff) takes place in a version of Gotham City where Bruce Wayne has been killed, and when the children of select Batman enemies have been framed for the murder of the Caped Crusader, Bruce’s adopted son will team up with these fellow youths to clear their name and become Gotham’s new saviors. Rather than pick someone like Dick Grayson, Jason Todd or Tim Drake to carry on Bruce’s legacy, the adopted son position falls in Gotham Knights to Turner Hayes, played by Master of the Air’s Oscar Morgan. Per THR, Turner was adopted by Bruce after his parents were murdered, and while he’s never felt comfortable in Bruce’s world of wealth and privilege, he’s determined to live up to his adoptive father’s name.
It’s unclear why Turner Hayes was selected to be Bruce Wayne’s adopted son rather than an already established character. The CW’s DC shows have run into character restrictions plenty of times over the years, and maybe because Titans is already using so many of Batman’s sidekicks, that placed them off limits for Gotham Knights. Still, this isn’t the first that a character has been created to lead a Batman-associated show on The CW. Following Ruby Rose’s departure as Kate Kane in Batwoman, Javicia Leslie was cast to play her successor, Ryan Wilder, who’s now held the caped and cowled mantle for two full seasons.
Fortunately, the rest of Gotham Knights’ main cast so far is filled with familiar characters from the comics. A few days ago, it was announced that Fallon Smythe and Tyler DiChiara will appear respectively as Harper and Cullen Row, siblings who were introduced early on in the main Batman book during the New 52 era. Then today, accompanying the news of Oscar Morgan playing Turner Hayes is that High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Olivia Rose Keegan and Raven’s Home’s Navia Robinson will play Duela and Carrie Kelley, respectively.
Keegan’s Duela is described as a brutal fighter and skilled thief who was born in Arkham Asylum and is the “unpredictable daughter of the most dangerous man in Gotham.” This is clearly a take on Duela Dent, who has claimed to be the daughter of many Gotham City rogues in the comics (including The Joker, Two-Face and The Penguin), and was previously played in Alessandra Torresani in Batwoman. As for Robinson’s Carrie, the “idealistic” teenager is said to have talked her way into becoming Batman’s “unlikely sidekick,” which lines up with how her comic book counterpart became Robin in The Dark Knight Returns. The small screen Carrie is the first to run into a dangerous situation, so long as she’s able to make it back home by curfew.
Developed by Batwoman writers Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux and Natalie Abrams, Gotham Knights is currently in the pilot stage, so it remains to be seen if The CW will greenlight it as a series. Meanwhile, the 2022 TV schedule is available to peruse if you’re looking for small screen entertainment to enjoy now or in the coming months.
