The CW's 'Gotham Knights' DC Comics pilot casts 2 characters from the Bat-verse

Last month, The CW announced it would move forward with the pilot phase of what could be its next major DC Comics-inspired series: Gotham Knights, a show that will follow a group of Gotham City misfits as they attempt to protect the city in the wake of Batman's absence. 

Though we've known the premise behind the show for a while, we haven't yet met many of the characters and actors who might populate it. That changed today, when Variety reported that rising stars Fallon Smythe (Lost in the West) and Tyler DiChiara (Relish) have joined the show as regulars, making them the first announced members of the Gotham Knights cast.

Though they're both playing relatively new characters in the Gotham sphere, both Smythe and DiChiara have landed what could be pivotal roles. They'll be playing siblings Harper and Cullen Row, respectively, two Gotham orphans who make their own way forward after surviving an abusive early childhood. Harper, a bisexual young woman who sports blue hair and some serious engineering skills, eventually parlays her willingness to fight for her own future into a career as the vigilante known as Bluebird. Though he doesn't have a superhero identity in the comics, Cullen has his own battles to fight as a young trans man, and is ready to assert himself and the future he wants.

Both characters first appeared in the New 52 run of Batman that launched in 2011. Harper Row was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, while Cullen was created by Snyder and Becky Cloonan. Both characters have continued to have a major impact in Gotham, particularly in Detective Comics and Batman stories by James Tynion IV. 

Developed by Batwoman writers Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux, and Natalie Abrams, and executive produced by Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti, Gotham Knights was first announced as a developing project late last year, and if it survives the pilot phase it could be a major new force in The CW's DC Comics-driven programming lineup. The series promises to follow numerous characters in the wake of Batman's death, including his "adoptive son." Sadly, we don't yet know which of Batman's many potential adoptive sons will inhabit that role, nor do we know which other key Gotham players will star in the show. Now that the first two cast members have been announced, though, we'll probably find out soon enough.