Gotham Season 4 Premiere Moved Up, Comic Book Influences Revealed

If enduring Gotham‘s summer hiatus has been especially hard for you, then know that some of the news we’re discussing today should please you. You’re still going to have to wait a while for season 4 to premiere, but Fox has decided to move the Batman prequel series’ returning episode up by one week. In other words, the next leg of Bruce Wayne’s journey will now commence on Thursday, September 21 (via Coming Soon).

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about what’s to come on the show itself. By now, it’s certainly no secret that Gotham is a bold retelling of the Dark Knight’s beginnings – oftentimes its reassembling of the parts is to the chagrin of staunch purists – but the producers do have to look to the source material here and there for inspiration.

Thanks to CBR, we’re now able to tell you which specific comic book story arcs are most influencing season 4. According to executive producer John Stephens, the first half of the season will draw inspiration from The Long Halloween, with the second mining Batman: Year One. What should be noted is that those definitive works written by Jeph Loeb and Frank Miller, respectively, are to be flipped if we’re to follow the comics chronologically. But, once again, the TV show is a different ballgame.

Truth be told, it’s not much of a surprise they’re going this route since a character from The Long Halloween was hinted at not long ago, whom we now believe to be Sofia Falcone. Still, tapping the Year One well admittedly seems a bit goofy at this point, seeing as how Bruce is around age sixteen. Yes, it’s no secret that that Gotham was renewed by the skin of its teeth, and the producers probably realize this won’t run for ten seasons as Smallville did, but that doesn’t mean we have to rush things by making what we can’t help but refer to as “Batboy.”