Batman:
The
Animated
Series
remains
an
important,
influential
superhero
show,
even
nearly
30
years
after
its
final
episode,
and
the
loss
of
iconic
voice
actor
Kevin
Conroy.
But
Batman
the
character
lives
forever,
and
he’ll
be
launching
into
new
adventures
soon
in
a
long-teased
series
from
TAS
creator
Bruce
Timm,
as
well
as
J.J.
Abrams
and
Matt
Reeves,
titled Batman:
Caped
Crusader.
Entertainment Weekly has new details on the series—originally slated for Max, now coming to Prime Video—as well as some insights from Timm and character designer James Tucker, who specifically set out not to duplicate that much-loved earlier Batman project. For one thing, it’s set in the 1940s, which will give the show more of a noir feel—as well as characters drawn to emulate the Batman comic art of the era—while eliminating modern touches like cell phones and computers.
Prime Video shared all the new images on X, featuring Batman, Catwoman, Jim Gordon, Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzell, and Clayface:
Image: Prime Video
Image: Prime Video
Image: Prime Video
Image: Prime Video
Image: Prime Video
Image: Prime Video
The
most
intriguing
element
sounds
like
Caped
Crusader’s
fresh
take
on
Harley
Quinn:
according
to
EW,
not
only
will
there
be
no
Joker
hanging
around,
Harley
herself
will
be
Asian
American.
“I co-created the character, so I have a lot of love and affection for her, but I thought there might be something interesting about bringing her on the show, just not as Joker’s girlfriend,” Timm told EW. “So how do we do that? A big part was just doing a basic flip. The original Dr. Quinzel was a little bit more serious, and then when she became Harley, she got really goofy and weird. So we thought, what if we reverse that? When she’s Dr. Quinzel, she’s a little bit more whimsical and fun, and then when she’s Harley Quinn, she’s scary.” As you can see in the images, aside from Harley, other villains we’ll see get that 1940s take include Catwoman (an homage to Barbara Stanwyck’s con artist character in 1941 screwball comedy The Lady Eve) and Clayface (“inspired by classic horror movies”).
And Harley’s not the only “weird” element Caped Crusader will contain; the show’s version of Batman is also “a really weird human being,” according to Timm. An overtly weird Batman? Bring it! Head to Entertainment Weekly for more from Timm and Tucker; Batman: Caped Crusader hits Prime Video August 1.
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