Batman: Caped Crusader, an animated series based on the iconic character, was announced in May 2021 and now some of its creative talent has spilled some details on the tonal direction of the show. Bruce Timm, known for co-creating Batman: The Animated Series, even said it will be “more ‘Batman: The Animated Series than Batman: The Animated Series.”
Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves have already been confirmed as executive producers but James Tucker is now serving as co-executive producer. He’s known for being the creator and producer of Batman: The Brave and the Bold as well as other Batman-related pieces of media.
Although there was no footage of the HBO Max show, the four men spoke about the upcoming series. Timm, in saying it would be “more ‘Batman: The Animated Series than Batman: The Animated Series,” meant it was going to get to the “original principals” of the Animated Series, but with not as many limitations concerning adult content and violence.
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Reeves, director of the upcoming The Batman, said it would be just Batman so don’t expect the Justice League or any other heroes. However, there will be some iconic villains and familiar relationships, but represented differently. For example, Batman may not be trusted by his regular allies like Commissioner Gordon. Timm also said that they were going to take characters like Catwoman, Joker, and Penguin, just to name a few, in different directions and those new paths will hopefully be as iconic as they were the first time.
Tucker said Batman himself will also upgrade in a sense and have more primitive (relatively speaking) technology and then get better gadgets as he grows. This includes the Batmobile as he will have different prototypes of his trusty car. This is different from other Batman shows, films, or games where he already has most of his gadgets from the jump.
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Batman: Strange Days, Timm’s short from 2014 (which is posted below), served as a tonal inspiration. It’s black and white and fits well within the noir genre and that mood “closed the deal” on the pitch because it served as a good vertical slice for what they wanted the show to be. However, Tucker wanted to make it clear that Caped Crusader won’t be in black in white unless he can convince Timm to do a special black and white episode. Timm did also say that it will be inspired by German Expressionism as well as the noir genre.
This “timeless 1940s” vibe will also influence the wardrobes, vehicles, and architecture. However, it will be more modern in its diversity and representation.