Is Gotham Considered Canon?

Gotham is a hit TV show that aired on FOX from 2014 to 2019, it ran for five seasons and spanned a hundred episodes. The show is based on the fictional city of Gotham, the city is known for being the home of one of the most famous comic book characters of all time Batman. Gotham city reeks of crime and ruled by gangsters and crime lords. Apart from the dark knight, some of the most iconic villains of all time like Poison Ivy, Joker, and Harley Quinn also belong to this city. The Gotham series follows the story of James Gordon who is a Gotham City Police Department recruit. At the time crime is emerging in the city in the wake of the murder of billionaire Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne, their son Bruce, the future Batman is in the guardianship of their family butler. All of these characters appear in several other TV shows, cartoons, animated films and Nolan’s Batman trilogy. So, fans have wondered if the Gotham TV show is canon? The answer is simple.
It is a canon on its own. Just like every other Batman film or TV show all of which are based on DC comics. All these adaptations are based on a certain edition of comics and follow the story of characters throughout different times of their life.
The only thing tying them together is the comics. All these different versions are considered canon and different from each other at the same time. For example, the Batman played by Christian Bale form Nolan’s trilogy is not the same who appeared in Justice League and Batman v Superman, played by Ben Affleck but both are canon.
There are other TV shows currently running like Flash and Arrow which share the universe with Gotham, we are going to see how these shows are interconnected.
Is Gotham considered canon?
Yes! As mentioned earlier, Gotham series is considered canon on its own. This show is set earlier than most of the Batman shows. In most of the Batman films and series he is a full-grown man with a haunting past, In Gotham we get to witness his trauma first hand that he had to go through his teenage, after the brutal murder of his parents that he had to witness.
The protagonist of this series is James Gordan, who also appeared in other Batman media. He is just a new recruit in Gotham city police department while in The Dark Knight trilogy he was police commissioner. In Gotham we get to see the past of several characters and how the crime really grew and festered the whole city.
Is Gotham canon with Arrowverse
Arrowverse is a media franchise based in characters from DC and it interconnects various TV shows like Arrow that ran from 2014 to 2020, Flash is currently running since 2014 among others. Flash and Arrow have crossed over in the past and fans have wondered if they will ever crossover with Gotham. They are all set in DC universe cities, Flash in Central City, Arrow in Star City, and Gotham itself is a city. The problem here is Gotham follows the story of James Gordan, who is a detective at the time and Bruce Wayne is not even Batman yet. Gotham is at least 20 years in the past compared to arrowverse.
One more problem here is that Gotham and Arrowverse are owned by different networks. Gotham is on Fox and Arrow and Flash on The CW. Because of this network conflict they could not have any crossover while Gotham or Arrow was on. In 2018 Arrowverse stepped into the Gotham City, but that had nothing to do with the Gotham (Tv Series). As an answer to that question we can only say that Gotham and Arrowverse are cannon on their own but not with each other.
Is Titan TV Show connected to Gotham?
Titans, a live-action TV show based on DC comics premiered on video on-demand streaming service DC Universe, currently, has two seasons and the third one is coming on HBO Max. The media content of DC Universe is all over the place. Its not like Marvel, which is acquired by Disney and they house everything Marvel-related under a roof.
Gotham focuses on young Bruce Wayne and Titans revolves around Robin, the best sidekick of batman. In Titans, Batman has to be much older. One can say that Titan can serve as the sequel of Gotham, but its not the case. Sure, the must be some details about Batman that are consistent in both of the series, but they exist in a different continuity.
Titan is connected to Gotham city for obvious reasons but it is not connected to Gotham Series. The only thread connecting them is the batman, who is not the most prominent figure in any of these shows. All we can say that both of these shows are part of the same universe, but they are not connected. They exist in their own continuity.
Is Gotham connected to Batman movies?
Every Batman film is set in Gotham city but that does not mean they are connected to Gotham TV series. As we know Gotham TV show shows the past of serval key characters of Batman movies, we get to see the origin and past of characters who are much older in Batman films.
If we are talking about Batman movies, there are no less than fifteen Batman movies and more than ten actors have played the role of batman. Exactly! All over the place. All the movies are based on comic books so we they are all canon but not connected to each other.
“The Dark Knight” trilogy by Christopher Nolan is considered the best in terms of both money and acclaim. These films are not connected to the Justice League or DC extended Universe that Warner Bros created staring from “Man of Steel”. The Batman in three of these films is played by Ben Affleck and now he has been replaced by Robert Pattison. Its unclear how are they going to tie earthing up.
The comic universe of Batman is vast. A filmmaker cannot run out of stories, this is why every Batman movie is canon and exist in their own continuity. Their connection to Gotham series is same. Same universe, different continuity.
Does Gotham follow the comic books?
There are ton on Batman comics out there. Over the years different writers have changed multiple things about different characters. So not one thing about comic books is considered canon. Gotham show is pre-batman, it is more like inspired by Batman comic because there is not much material about teenage Bruce Wayne. So, the TV show just adds things on their own and change things where are suits. Gotham is influenced by comic books obviously, but Gotham is its own thing.
There have not been much publications about young Bruce so Gotham is just a new leaf in the Batman universe. There is no Batman in Gotham, nor any fancy gadget or car, at least not until the very last episode. This is just new story more like an origin. Throughout the history of Batman, many characters have been changed or redone so many times that we cannot if their portrayal on Gotham is accurate.
So, in our answer to the question, does Gotham follow comic book? The answer is straightforward. There is not much material for the it to follow. TV shows has just made serval storyline on its own. The portrayal of characters can be accurate if linked back to certain volume comic.
Will there be a Batman show after Gotham?
The finale of Gotham has left the door wide open for continuation or sequel of the show, now its up to the producers if they want to continue it. Warner Bros are putting all their money on the new era of Batman movies coming in 2021 starring Robert Pattison. It’d be weird to have two active batmen at the same time. But if they decide to do it nothing is impossible.
Currently there are no plans on continuing the story where Gotham left off. Gotham has kind of served its purpose of showing the past of Batman in full detail. It was not something that had been done before. On the other hand, any story that will come after this is probably has been done before.
There is plenty of material coming for Batman fans. The third season of Titans will air on HBO Max and a new Batman era is beaning in 2021. You will have a lot to look forward to.