Following a series of rumors and leaks, WB Montreal confirmed that at least some of the speculation was correct as its next game is the Batman-lessGotham Knights.Revealed at the recent DC FanDome event,Gotham Knightspushes the Bat Family into the spotlight after seemingly killing off Bruce Wayne and instead letting players pick from his trusted allies Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, and Batgirl. The reveal also confirmed that the story would revolve around the Court of Owls and their deadly assassins known as Talons.
While a popular comic book story line, the team realized thatGotham Knightswould be the perfect opportunity to introduce the villainous organization to the video game world. In a recent interview, creative director Patrick Redding addressed this very topic, confirming that placing the Court of Owls in the role as primary antagonist was more about fit than anything else. With Batman no longer in the picture, the game attempts to tell the story of what happens next to Gotham City. Without the protection of Batman, the door is wide open for a shadowy organization like the Court of Owls to finally step into the light to take control.
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The other element is what the new Gotham City heroes represent. While Batman traditional did things his own way, the Bat Family now represents a new guard, driven by new ideas, collaboration, and the ability to solve issues with a sort of youthful fervor. When WB Montreal looked at the rogues gallery, the Court of Owls jumped out as an almost a direct antithesis to that. The team saw them more as a reflection of corruption, power, greed, and the old ways of life.
Already, the group has seemingly left their mark on Gotham in the wake of Batman’s death. The debut trailer reveals that Commissioner Gordon has not only died in this universe but the Gotham City Police Department has seemingly been infiltrated by the Court. One big hint was discovered by a reddit user who noticed that in the trailer, the GCPD badge has an owl sitting on top of it and could be a strong visual indicator that theCourt now has control over the police.
Well, there’s no better antithesis to that, honestly, than The Court of Owls, which represents corrupt, old, entrenched power and wealth, it’s just twisted and has distorted and turned Gotham City into this grotesque version of an East Coast American city, right? So I think it was a really logical, very organic choice as an adversary for that group of heroes.
The decision to ultimately kill off a legendary character such as Batman was a bold choice and for many fans, left them wondering how it tied into the larger Arkham narrative. As they later discovered,Gotham Knightstakes place in its own universe, with theArkhamverse continuing in Rocksteady’sSuicide Squadgame instead. As shocking as killing off Batman is, many assume it’s a ruse with many fan theories popping up about how Bruce Wayne went into hiding, or was captured by the Court similar to the comic book story, or perhaps even being turned into the apex Talon that players would need to fight.
Gotham Knightsis currently in development and will release in 2021.
