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Batman: Caped Crusader, an animated series focusing on the early years of Batman's crimefighting career and which was supposed to premiere on HBO Max before its cancelation, has been picked up by Amazon Prime Video, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The series is executive produced by J.J. Abrams, the creative mind behind two Star Wars sequel trilogy films and the television shows Lost and Felicity. Matt Reeves, the director of Robert Pattinson's The Batman and two films in the rebooted The Planet of the Apes franchise, has also joined Abrams in producing the series.
Bruce Timm, the mind behind 1992's Batman: The Animated Series and several other animated DC projects, will be the showrunner for Batman: Caped Crusader.
Batman: Caped Crusader will be "thrilling, cinematic, and evocative" of the Dark Knight's noir roots
The animated series was first announced at the DC Fandome Event in September 2020. At the event, Matt Reeves claimed that Batman was the only superhero during the events of the series. He shared:
"In this new iteration, it's just Batman. The Justice League doesn't exist. There aren't any other superheroes. You're watching this lone figure swimming through the cesspool of Gotham. It's Batman alone."
Bruce Timm, who created Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, said Batman: Caped Crusader is "more BTAS than BTAS" at the DC Fandome Event.
In a later interview with The Hollywood Reporter, J.J Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm teased that Batman: Caped Crusader would be very evocative of Batman's noir setting in a thrilling and cinematic manner. They said:
"We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City. The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world."
Warner Bros., in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, described the trio of Abrams, Reeves, and Timm as a "powerful creative partnership" and how that would end up reimagining Batman and his iconic rogue's gallery in Batman: Caped Crusader:
"This powerful creative partnership will once again reinvent Batman and his iconic rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world."
James Tucker, one of the executive producers of Batman: Caped Crusader, told The Hollywood Reporter how the series would explore Batman's career before he became allies with Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham City Police. He stated that the series would showcase the development of that partnership.
"We've reconfigured some of the roles some of the characters have. We're starting before Batman has earned their trust and they've earned Batman's trust,"
He added:
"We don't know that Commissioner Gordon will be Batman's ally. The journey of the show is to see how they eventually grow together and learn to trust or not. Nothing is assumed in this series as far as what we're used to seeing in the world of Batman."
He concluded:
"As he develops as a character, we'll start introducing those gadgets, and the audience can see how he developed the Batmobile using different prototypes. Part of the fun of this series is that we're finding him discovering these things that [in] most other Batman series they already were there."
As per a report from The Entertainment Weekly, Batman: Caped Crusader will utilize state-of-the-art animation technology and techniques to reinvent Batman and his rogues with complex storytelling, intense action sequences, and nuanced characterization.
As of now, no voice cast has not been announced. Fans should, however, not expect any of the Batman: The Animated Series cast to reprise their roles as Kevin Conroy, Bob Hastings, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., the former voices of Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Alfred Pennyworth have all passed away.
Mark Hamill, the voice of Joker, said in an interview with Variety that he would likely not return to the role following Conroy's passing. He said that without Kevin, "there doesn't seem to be a Batman for him."
It remains to be seen whether Batman: Caped Crusader will kickstart a shared animated DC Universe similar to how Batman: The Animated Series started the DC Animated Universe back in the 90s, which included Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League.
