Bruce Timm Can Finally Have His Dream Fulfilled With Batman: Caped Crusader That Was Turned Down in Batman: The Animated Series
After a challenging journey, the much-anticipated animated series Batman: Caped Crusader is finally going to be released on Amazon Prime Video. The brainchild of legendary animator Bruce Timm, this series will pay homage to the Dark Knight’s early years, a vision that was initially planned for the iconic Batman: The Animated Series in the 90s.
Originally announced as an HBO Max series in 2021, Caped Crusader faced risks during the time when Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav was discarding Warner shows and movies. However, the makers of the show did not give up, and Prime Video came on board by purchasing two seasons of it.
With a team of Bruce Timm, J. J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, who himself is coming off the success of The Batman, Caped Crusader is expected to carry on the legacy of the legend, drawing inspiration from his early adventures.
Bruce Timm Finally Got His Chance to Set Batman: Caped Crusader in the 1940s
The completion of Batman: Caped Crusader is almost like a dream come true for the showrunner, Bruce Timm. In the making of the popular ’90s series, Timm had a vision of a darker and grittier version of Gotham City, which would take viewers back to the 1940s. It was the time when the Dark Knight first appeared in the comics.
According to Geektyrant, in an interview with Les Daniels’ 1999 book Batman: The Complete History, Timm said,
“If it had been up to me I would have set it literally in 1939. […] But writers find it really hard to write stories without falling back on computer screens and things like that.”
However, the showrunner faced artistic limits and the necessity of attracting a wider audience. It led him to abandon his vision. But with Batman: Caped Crusader, Timm and the other writers freely explored the dark, gritty Gotham of 1940s.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Timm said,
“James and I are both really big fans of movies from that era, so we decided to really lean into that in terms of the clothes, the cars, the architecture, and the level of technology. Early on, we decided there would be no computers and no cell phones. That changed everything.”
All the features of Caped Crusader like architecture, fashion, and the absence of modern technology such as computers and cell phones, will be a homage to the Golden Age of Batman comics. Timm and his fellow writers drew ideas from the original comics that put characters such as Catwoman and Clayface on the map.
What Can We See in Batman: Caped Crusader?
Batman: Caped Crusader will stick to the roots of Batman’s origins, but viewers can also expect a fresh take on the characters. For example, Catwoman will not wear her usual leather jumpsuit but her original purple attire, which will also be a tribute to her 1940s debut. Similarly, Clayface will also discard his monstrous look and go back to mentally deranged make-up artist Basil Karlo.
But the boldest remake will be that of Harley Quinn as she will portray an Asian American psychiatrist. Quinn will turn her psychological knowledge into a weapon. This will be a darker version of her where she is no longer the Joker’s sidekick.
Moreover, the show will also give a new understanding of Bruce Wayne. Timm reveals that he wanted an unusual but psychologically charged portrayal of Wayne. In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, Timm said,
“He’s not obsessed with his parents’ murder, but it changed him in a way where he’s still not adjusted to being a human being. He’s literally Batman; inside, that’s who he is. Whenever he’s Bruce Wayne, that’s not just him with a mask off, that’s him wearing a person suit. He’s trying to pretend to be something that he’s not.”
By delivering a fresh take on these iconic characters, Batman: Caped Crusader is expected to be a blend of aesthetics, and dark psychology and to be a treat for comic book lovers, as Bruce Timm’s vision of a 1940s-set Batman story is finally realized.
Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere on August 1, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video.
