DC Comics owner Warner Bros. and Spotify inked a deal earlier this summer to produce scripted audio dramas, and writer and director David S. Goyer is on tap to produce the first project under the new agreement called “Batman Unburied.”
Details of the new show are sparse, but Goyer said in a statement the podcast plans to “explore the darker aspects of Bruce Wayne’s psychology” and examine the man behind the Bat. Goyer also said the podcast will make ample use of the growing catalog of villains Wayne has faced as Batman over the years.
The show will debut at an undetermined date in 2021 exclusively on Spotify, the company said.
Goyer has worked with several of DC’s biggest film franchises, including as a writer on its “Dark Knight” trilogy, co-writer on the 2016 “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed by Zach Snyder, and the 2013 flick “Man of Steel.”
“I’ve been a fan of narrative podcasts for some time and was looking for the right story — returning to Batman seems like the perfect opportunity. We’ll be using the unique advantages of audio to dig into the more nightmarish members of the Dark Knight’s Rogues Gallery,” Goyer said in a statement, referencing the fandom’s nickname for Batman’s various foes.
Spotify chief content officer Dawn Ostroff said in a statement Tuesday that the company “can think of no better leader to leverage the infinite possibilities of podcasting to bring the nearly 300 million Spotify users around the world a Batman saga for the ages.”
Spotify and Warner Bros. announced plans for an audio content partnership in mid-June. Warner Bros. Digital Networks manages the partnership, which includes Warner Bros.’ digital studio, Blue Ribbon Content, handling the day-to-day programming and creative tasks. Spotify will handle the distribution, marketing and advertising of all forthcoming shows. In addition to making content based on existing DC and Warner Bros. franchises, the partnership extends to creating more original content.
Spotify created a dedicated page on its streaming platform for the DC partnership, which fans can check out here — but until the future launch of “Batman Unburied,” the page remains relatively bare.