Not too long ago, DC Comics published a series of comic books based on the 1960s BATMAN television series. That was followed by not one, but two animated films based on it — BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS (2016) and BATMAN VS. TWO FACE (2017).
We’ve also seen comic book versions of other DC-based TV series such as The WB/The CW’s SMALLVILLE and the 1970s WONDER WOMAN starring Lynda Carter.
Now, DC has followed suit, but this time, they pulled from theatrically-released, big screen vault instead of TV.
Staring this July (2021), DC will digitally-publish BATMAN ’89 and SUPERMAN ’78 comic book tales based on worlds established with Tim Burton’s BATMAN (1989) and Richard Donner’s SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, respectively. Hardcover collected editions of each will be available later this year in the Fall.
While this news makes the 13 and 23-year-old versions of myself happy as can be (that’s how old I was when STM and B89 came out, respectively), there’s something that would kick the coolness factor up even further: Animated films based on each. If they did it for BATMAN ’66, why not these two beloved live-action incarnations of DC’s most iconic characters?
And heck, why stop there?
How about using unused scripts sitting somewhere in a vault at Warner Bros. in Burbank, CA as inspiration for other DC animated movies? For example…
Joel Schumacher’s BATMAN UNCHAINED (w/b Mark Protosevich), Darren Aronofsky’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE, Wolfgang Petersen’s BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN (w/b Andrew Kevin Walker), David Goyer’s SUPERMAX, or Tim Burton’s SUPERMAN LIVES (w/b Kevin Smith, et al).
Look, I’m basically spit-balling here, OK? I don’t know all the contractual, monetary, or legal aspects of such projects –whether there would be any or not — but if it can happen as a comic book, shouldn’t an animated movie be possible as well?
What do you all think? Down with idea or not? Discuss in the comments section below! – Bill “Jett” Ramey
