Why is Hollywood so obsessed with Batman prequels? Blame Smallville!

CBR

The news that Gotham creator Bruno Heller was making another Batman prequel, based on the Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth, begs the question: Why? "Why continue to flash back to a time when the World’s Greatest Detective was nowhere close to being that?" says Tom Speelman. "Well, half of it is just Warner Bros. doubling down on its golden goose. If people like Batman, executives figure, they want to see everything he was before Batman, right? If they get invested in his build up, we can keep them watching for as long as we want! Love it or hate it, Smallville‘s decade on the air set the precedent for this sort of thinking."

ALSO:

• Gotham star talks about Season 4 finale death
• Ranking the many, many voices of Batman