“Batman: Caped Crusader,” a new Batman animated series from executive producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves and Bruce Timm, finally heads to Prime Video this summer, with all 10 episodes hitting the streaming service on Aug. 1. The series hails from Warner Bros. Animation, Bad Robot Productions and 6th & Idaho. Along with Abrams, Reeves and Timm, ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ executive producers include Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich and Sam Register.
Specifics, including the voice cast, have yet to be revealed.
The project was announced in 2021 during DC Fandome, a fan event that was presented online. “It’s more ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ than ‘Batman: The Animated Series.’ It goes back to the principals of the show that we came up with in the early 90s,” Timm said at the time. Timm also teased that the series would be “set in the timeless ’40s world. If anything, we’re going to lean into that more in terms of authentic clothes and hairstyles and hats and vehicles and architecture. The way we deal with the characters will be more modern in terms of representation and inclusivity.”
“Batman: Caped Crusader” was one of the projects unceremoniously canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery management, with Prime Video rescuing it from a “Batgirl”/”Coyote vs. Acme” fate.
A second season of the show is already in the works.
Additionally, Prime Video has released descriptions of the characters:
• BATMAN – A cold, remorseless avenger of evil, seemingly more machine than man. Forged in the fire of tragedy, every fiber of his being is dedicated to the eradication of crime.
• BRUCE WAYNE – To the public at large, Bruce Wayne is a shallow dilettante, apparently wasting his parents’ vast fortune on frivolous pursuits and hedonistic pleasures. In fact, he’s an elaborate facade, carefully constructed to divert attention from his activities as Batman.
• SELINA KYLE / “CATWOMAN” – Selena Kyle is a blithe and pampered heiress whose family lost their fortune after her father was imprisoned for embezzlement. Despite having the silver spoon yanked from her mouth, Selina refuses to quit living in the lap of luxury and becomes Catwoman as a “fun” way to maintain her lavish lifestyle.
• DR. HARLEEN QUINZEL / “HARLEY QUINN” – Despite a personable and bubbly demeanor, Dr. Harleen Quinzel is a brilliant psychiatrist who treats some of Gotham’s elite. However, as Harley Quinn, she is a different person, entirely. A creepy, quiet, calculating menace who secretly dispenses her twisted justice to the truly despicable among her elite clientele.
• COMMISSIONER JIM GORDON – Former beat cop close to retirement, Gordon was hired to play along with the corrupt system and run out the clock till he can draw a pension. But they’ve sorely underestimated Jim Gordon. His unassailable character brings him into conflict with dirty cops and crooked politicians, alike. Not to mention, he has to reckon with a deranged vigilante beating up Gotham’s criminals.
• CLAYFACE – Thanks to his “unique” facial features, screen actor Basil Karlo has been forever typecast as a B-movie heavy. Frustrated by the limitations his appearance put on both his career and personal life (he fell hopelessly in love with his co-star), Karlo turned to an experimental serum that promised to change his face. However, not only does this serum ultimately disfigure his face, but it ruptures the last of his sanity — creating the tragic, vengeance seeking villain, Clayface.
“Batman: Caped Crusader” will stream exclusive on Prime Video beginning on August 1.
