Batman: The Animated Series Revival May Be Coming
Batman: The resumption of the animated series could come
Television
Warner Bros. may be getting ready to send the Bat Signal. On a recent episode of the Fat Man Beyond podcast, hosts Kevin Smith and Mark Bernardin stated that they had learned from reliable sources that a cover version of Batman is planned: An animated series is discussed. The follow-up series, or whatever it’s called, will air on HBO Max. Bernardin first addressed the issue, stressing that it was just a rumor, but Smith boldly added that his sources – whom he described as very reliable people – had told him the same thing and that he thought even if it wasn’t set in stone, it was more likely to happen. After much discussion about how to proceed, Mr. Smith ended the conversation by saying that if it was on the market…and it was a potential stock to buy, I would buy Batman en masse: Anime series reloaded. I think it’s coming true. Batman was founded in 1993: This series was a landmark in the world of television animation, showing a darker and more adult version of the character and his world than the version previously presented in a series for children. He introduced the DC Animated Universe and made DC a powerful force in animation. Along with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, he gave the world what many consider to be the definitive versions of Batman and The Joker (outside of comics). Batman: The animated series is currently available in its entirety on HBO Max (but in its original production order; if you want to see it in its original production order, you’ll have to skip it).
Of course I don’t want to get my hopes up, but Kevin Smith seems pretty confident in Batman: The anime series is on its way home. Whether it’s good or not depends largely on the people involved. The main talent behind the scenes should come back, especially Bruce Timm and Paul Deeney, and some others like Alan Burnett would be good. I also hope they will keep the animation style of the original series instead of a reenactment of the new Batman adventures where everyone looks like a corpse. And I’d like to find the original music by Danny Elfman; it was part of the atmosphere and gave the stories an epic and cinematic feel. Of course Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are leaving on their own, I hope all the voice actors who can come back will, but they are the main ones. (My God, can you imagine Mark Hamill bringing back to life the two icons he played – one of our culture’s greatest heroes and one of its greatest villains?) If they can do all that, then I’m in. I’m at the age where I used to watch Batman: A cartoon series when I was a kid, and to me it was a big deal; it showed that animation (outside of prime time like the Simpsons) didn’t have to be overly sanitized and childish. The first episode I saw was Iceheart, and even at the age of ten I marveled at how human it was, how Mr. Freeze showed how antagonistic Batman was when he was forced to fight someone who had the right to do so. There are many more such episodes, and since cartoons for adults are now more acceptable (thanks in part to this series), they shouldn’t be greeted with as many pleas from studio directors to make them more suitable for children as they were in the second episode of the series. A million things can go wrong, but there are many reasons for optimism. I mean, Michael Keaton is coming back, and it would have been much more plausible if someone had suggested those two possibilities a year ago.
Wanna see Batman? The return of the anime series? Which version of the animation do you prefer? Is Kevin Smith invited to write an episode where Batman pisses himself? Give us your feedback and stay up to date with Geeks + Gamers news!
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the new batman adventures, batman the animated series episodes, batman beyond