Batman: Caped Crusader cast and crew discuss new show

The cast and crew for the upcoming Batman: Caped Crusader animated series have shared some details about what we can expect.

In a feature from Vanity Fair, showrunner Bruce Timm and character creator James Tucker provided some thoughts on making the show. "I’m a huge film noir fan, and that’s pretty much what we do exclusively in this," said Tucker. "It’s such a period piece. I mean, I’ve done all kinds of Batman. I’ve worked on shows with different takes on Batman. No one has quite done this one for animation yet."

Timm, who was a major part of Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s, added, "There were certain things that I had in my mind back in the early ’90s for the original Batman: The Animated Series that I didn’t get to do. I wanted to do this emotionally messed-up version of Batman, who’s extremely aloof and almost inhuman."

Some of the characters will also be getting new takes on their origins and motivations. Jaime Chung spoke about her rendition of Dr. Harleen Quinzel. "You have the psychiatrist that is really bubbly, and seems like she really cares about her clients, but she’s kind of like a Robin Hood. She treats some of the elites in Gotham, but she takes it upon herself to bring justice in her own way." She went on to add, "It’s kind of creepy. They really wanted [Harley Quinn] to be very menacing—a bit more quiet and calculating. In a weird way, she’s like a dominatrix. You’re in all this pain and yet she’s telling you what to do, and ‘You’ve been a bad boy…’"

As to Batman himself, Timm said that Hamish Linklater landed the role due to his take on Bruce Wayne's voice. "We had a lot of people who were pretty good Batmans, but almost no good Bruces," said Timm. Linklater said of the role, "Bruce Wayne is the mask. He’s the secret identity. He’s the invention. Batman is the actual character, the actual guy. It’s set in the ’40s, [so I just thought of] how Batman would try to play himself off as a playboy socialite. I think I just tried to swing and swing and swing until I made contact with something."

Batman: Caped Crusader is set to release on August 1 on Amazon Prime Video.

26 comments

Sara

June 20, 2024

...and my enthusiasm was tempered by the article. I don't trust the way they've chosen to write Harvey Dent as a corrupt DA who serves the rich and Harley as a Robin Hood figure who gives to the poor. In the original Golden Age Two-Face origin, Harvey's descent into madness was precipitated by the prejudice he experienced when he was burned. He was a good man who had been injured in the service of Gotham and was brutally rejected because of those visible injuries. He couldn't have his face repaired because the only qualified surgeon was imprisoned by the Nazis. (Remember, the creators of Batman were Jewish.) His MO was to use his coin to decide whether the spoils of his crimes would go to charity or into his coffers. It is the best early example of public debate in Batman comics.

In modern comics, Harvey is an abuse survivor who suppressed his violent urges and madness as long as he could. Without knowing his childhood, I can only speculate about how he'll be written here. There's nothing in the article about mental illness, either. Both that and abuse have been soooo important to how he's written in modern times. I just don't like the idea that he's another (white, straight, male) child of privilege who has to learn empathy through pain. Except for some elseworlds and maybe Tomasi's New 52 origin, he's always begun as a good person.

Portraying Harvey as corrupt also almost has to mean that he and Bruce aren't friends in this series. Establishing their friendship and mutual respect well before Harvey's fall was one of the best choices the creators of TAS made. But even when Tomasi was making him corrupt, he kept him sympathetic. So maybe.

Not one episode has aired, only a bare minimum of information has been released, and I am already overthinking. Lol.

Well, we'll see. I need to love this show because I am hating the new comics.

But I'm sure what everyone else will want to talk about is that Harley and Renee are now girlfriends.

Sara
June 20, 2024
Also, looks like Alfred's fat in this version? Lol. He was in his first appearances, too, but it caught me off guard. I thought the image was horizontally stretched for a second.
Nothing about Clayface in the article?
devilman013
June 21, 2024
I want to talk about why Harley Quinn is even in this show at all. She wasn't even a character during the era in which this show is based.
1. Sara
  June 21, 2024
  I'm sick of her, but I could see using her eventually since memorable female characters from that era are scarce. But they should have given the first season to villains from the forties. They have TWO Golden Age psychiatrists they could have used and they're both better choices for Bruce's shrink. Yet we got stuck with this off-brand Harley.
  1. Charlie-Raymond
    June 22, 2024
    You know, if they wanted a “scary, silent and serious” villain that just happens to dress like a clown they could have used this show to give a spotlight to a character The Mime. In fact Timm and co should have used this series to expose the public to some more obscure characters from Batman lore. Instead of just rehashing already famous characters and making them unrecognisable.
    Really don’t see why Harley needs to appear in this at all. Joker is already confirmed to not be part of this (so her origin is going to have to be completely different) and it would be nice to see Poison Ivy be a solo character again, and not just Harley’s love interest.
    1. Sasha
      June 24, 2024
      Well you won’t have to worry about Harley dragging down Ivy because Timm has now revealed that Harley will have a new love interest…Renee Montoya. Yes really. (Although it is kinda fitting. Both characters have been turned into nothing but “lesbian love interests”. Might as well pair them up together.)
    2. Sara
      June 24, 2024
      "Both characters have been turned into nothing but “lesbian love interests”."
      This is fairly true of Harley in ongoings, but I don't see how this applies to Renee (yet). Her only problem is that she's underused. Most of the time her roles in the GCPD or as the Question take precedence over her romantic life.
      The one force that could turn Renee into a tokenized lesbian is, of course, Harley Quinn.
2. Phelps
  June 22, 2024
  LOL christ almighty, how do worryingly stupid crybaby dorks like you even have the brain function to wipe your ass correctly.
  1. devilman013
    June 22, 2024
    Go f**k yourself, a**hole.
    1. Phelps
      June 30, 2024
      LOL par for the course rage-fart reply from Princess Crybaby Neckbeard Dunce
    2. devilman013
      June 30, 2024
      Grow up, douchebag.
  2. Commenter with no name
    June 22, 2024
    Wow, what a thought provoking counter argument you’ve presented there. My reservations about this series have been completely flipped! I can tell that you’re a very well spoken intellectual. You should join a debate team with responses like that.
    1. Ravager
      June 23, 2024
      I like how you said that as if your childish insult was any better
    2. Phelps
      June 30, 2024
      Wow, what a laughably failed non-response from one of the regular braindead geek trolls here who decided to use an alt account just so you could upvote yourself straight after LOL
      Enjoy your MENSA meeting with the other tard who genuinely typed that Harley Quinn absolutely "CANT!" be in a noir era Batman show because she wasn't around in noir-era comics, Princess No Name X- )
3. Ravager
  June 23, 2024
  Probably a mandate.

Madeleine

June 20, 2024

Unlike most people here I never watched Batman: The Animated Series beyond some clips online. In fact I never watched any Batman cartoons when I was younger. I've been considering watching this since I too am dissatisfied with the comics.

I've liked what I've read about their version of Bruce. The modern comics put him on trial in every run. I welcome a series where he is a driven young man who works alone or in the company of capable adults like Gordon and Alfred.

I'm not happy with what I've read about their version of Harvey. Timm calling him "kind of a schnook" was a real turn off; the term is a blatant insult. I want more stories that focus on Harvey's heroic side but I'm suspicious that they're setting him up as a foil for Harley who is not a character I like... Knowing this is an elseworld doesn't rinse out the bitter aftertaste.

Sara
June 20, 2024
I like their stated plans for Bruce, too. They need to get away from his personal life. The bigger the Bat-Family, the more Bruce will be pilloried for every thing he gets wrong as a father figure and leader. Modern comics Bruce is not Bruce. He's a vile imposter. I don't know him. This animated version sounds familiar.
100% agreed about Harvey. I could live with a Two-Face based on the pretty okay version in Harleen, but their description made me think of Cliff Chiang's awful version in Catwoman: Lonely City. Gotta have an eeeeevil straight white male to pit against those righteous diverse lesbians, yeah?
God, I want to be all enthusiastic, but something always goes against me.
1. Madeleine
  June 20, 2024
  It's quite a blow because Bruce and Harvey are my favorites. When I saw his name in the list of characters I was excited to see a new version of their friendship and partnership take shape. This Bruce is mercifully free of his Batfamily but it sounds like he may have lost the kind of humanity the classic Batman had, someone who could make friends or hide under the DA's desk. Harvey was the only character they had anything negative to say about in this article with nothing positive... "Smarmy," "corrupt," a "schnook"?
  I really liked Timm's Two-Face story from the first Batman: Black and White anthology and felt he understood what made the character. He knew that Harvey wasn't moved by vanity but by sickness. I hope Timm hasn't forgotten. I don't want to judge too harshly based on one interview but this did not prime me to watch.
  1. Sara
    June 20, 2024
    Now that you mention it, maybe they're going too cold with this Bruce. But I like weird Bruce. As long as by "weird" they don't just mean "frigid loner." That's overdone. The humanity of the TAS Bruce, and of the villains, is one of its claims to fame.
    Many fans of Harvey Dent want to see him spend more time with Bruce, not less. And they want him to be written as a better man, not worse. So what does WB/DC do? Why, the obvious! They remake him into a schmoozy, hypocritical bastard.
    The desk scene was removed from the Year One animation adaptation. They want us to forget. Never! It was a funny, boyish think-on-your-feet moment for the two of them and all people of culture love it.

Commenter with no name

June 20, 2024

The more I hear about this show the less interested I get.

Why are they bothering to call this clown woman Harley Quinn? She has nothing in common with Harley except the name. The whole point of Harley is that she completely fell victim to The Joker’s manipulation and became obsessed with him. Yes I know Joker isn’t going to be part of this series, but that makes Harley’s involvement make even less sense. Bruce’s therapist should have been a brand new character.

Making Harvey Dent a corrupt a-hole never works. Harvey being a good man and a symbol of hope for Gotham is was makes his decent into madness tragic. A lot of Batman villains seem to be losing that element of tragedy lately. A big part of Batman’s no killing rule was because he believed that there is still hope for the criminals he fights. It doesn’t make sense anymore if all the villains are complete monsters even before they became criminals.

Sara
June 20, 2024
I think Bruce's therapist should have been Hugo Strange. Unlike attention hog Harley, he's a Golden Age character. He's also always been an unsympathetic monster, so if they wanted one villain like that for Season One, he'd have been the perfect fit.
The changes to Harvey Dent are making me grit my teeth. They could have used him as a Robin Hood-type. No need to valorize Harley Quinn.

ChE_MovieFan

June 20, 2024

Oh, great, another anti-hero Harley... Harvey Dent is much more menacing as a tragically corrupted hero than an unsympathetic proxy for social justice crusaders. I think it's safe to say Paul Dini was the brains of BTAS. I'll probably pass on this one.

Also, can I just say how dumb it is that "Batman is the real guy" has to be reflected in the voice? Like, Bruce Wayne's real voice is Batman and his put-on voice is for Bruce? That's so impractical and ludicrous. Kevin Conroy is the only one who could pull it off where Bruce sounds more ridiculous than Batman. This new guy sounds terrible, and I'm not even comparing them, but Bruce Timm is overthinking all the wrong things.

Sara

June 21, 2024

Nobody asked for a retread. Not every change is going to be a cause for celebration. Some of the changes made to Harvey and Harley have been associated with bad writing of their characters for years.

Actual Facts

June 22, 2024

And the dumbest comment section of the year goes to.....

Pathetic, whiny, braindead crybaby geeks strike again, what a shocker.

This has BY FAR the single highest pedigree of talent for any Batman animated media since BTAS 30 f'n years ago, yet all the regular rage-farting dorkwads continue their laughably clueless bitching and moaning....and bitching....and bitching....and bitching.

It's almost as if (*GASP*) you dolts don't have any idea what you're talking about and
there's factually no pleasing you no matter what, so you resort to laughable "I could've dun it betta!!!!" garbage. No wonder the new Star Wars show/every single piece of Star Wars media since 1983 gets violently trolled by Team Moron Keyboard Warriors LOL.

Phelps

June 22, 2024

This site has always been a breeding ground of impossible-to-please, clueless crybaby geekoids, so it's really wasn't a surprise to see them whining about a pseudo-sequel to the universally acclaimed Batman The Animated Series.

Berkley

June 22, 2024

I'm looking forward to the new takes on Bruce and Selina. I've sorely missed Bruce as an investigator.

Timm and the others could have phrased their comments about Harvey Dent more sensitively. For now I choose to trust that the showrunners thought this out carefully, but nobody wants to see a sympathetic character made less so.

The thought of Harley getting preferential treatment is undeniably tugging at the back of my mind.

Very glad to hear Renee is in this.

Sara
June 20, 2024
...and my enthusiasm was tempered by the article. I don't trust the way they've chosen to write Harvey Dent as a corrupt DA who serves the rich and Harley as a Robin Hood figure who gives to the poor. In the original Golden Age Two-Face origin, Harvey's descent into madness was precipitated by the prejudice he experienced when he was burned. He was a good man who had been injured in the service of Gotham and was brutally rejected because of those visible injuries. He couldn't have his face repaired because the only qualified surgeon was imprisoned by the Nazis. (Remember, the creators of Batman were Jewish.) His MO was to use his coin to decide whether the spoils of his crimes would go to charity or into his coffers. It is the best early example of public debate in Batman comics.
In modern comics, Harvey is an abuse survivor who suppressed his violent urges and madness as long as he could. Without knowing his childhood, I can only speculate about how he'll be written here. There's nothing in the article about mental illness, either. Both that and abuse have been soooo important to how he's written in modern times. I just don't like the idea that he's another (white, straight, male) child of privilege who has to learn empathy through pain. Except for some elseworlds and maybe Tomasi's New 52 origin, he's always begun as a good person.
Portraying Harvey as corrupt also almost has to mean that he and Bruce aren't friends in this series. Establishing their friendship and mutual respect well before Harvey's fall was one of the best choices the creators of TAS made. But even when Tomasi was making him corrupt, he kept him sympathetic. So maybe.
Not one episode has aired, only a bare minimum of information has been released, and I am already overthinking. Lol.
Well, we'll see. I need to love this show because I am hating the new comics.
But I'm sure what everyone else will want to talk about is that Harley and Renee are now girlfriends.
1. Sara
  June 20, 2024
  Also, looks like Alfred's fat in this version? Lol. He was in his first appearances, too, but it caught me off guard. I thought the image was horizontally stretched for a second.
  Nothing about Clayface in the article?
2. devilman013
  June 21, 2024
  I want to talk about why Harley Quinn is even in this show at all. She wasn't even a character during the era in which this show is based.
  1. Sara
    June 21, 2024
    I'm sick of her, but I could see using her eventually since memorable female characters from that era are scarce. But they should have given the first season to villains from the forties. They have TWO Golden Age psychiatrists they could have used and they're both better choices for Bruce's shrink. Yet we got stuck with this off-brand Harley.
    1. Charlie-Raymond
      June 22, 2024
      You know, if they wanted a “scary, silent and serious” villain that just happens to dress like a clown they could have used this show to give a spotlight to a character The Mime. In fact Timm and co should have used this series to expose the public to some more obscure characters from Batman lore. Instead of just rehashing already famous characters and making them unrecognisable.
      Really don’t see why Harley needs to appear in this at all. Joker is already confirmed to not be part of this (so her origin is going to have to be completely different) and it would be nice to see Poison Ivy be a solo character again, and not just Harley’s love interest.
      1. Sasha
        June 24, 2024
        Well you won’t have to worry about Harley dragging down Ivy because Timm has now revealed that Harley will have a new love interest…Renee Montoya. Yes really. (Although it is kinda fitting. Both characters have been turned into nothing but “lesbian love interests”. Might as well pair them up together.)
      2. Sara
        June 24, 2024
        "Both characters have been turned into nothing but “lesbian love interests”."
        This is fairly true of Harley in ongoings, but I don't see how this applies to Renee (yet). Her only problem is that she's underused. Most of the time her roles in the GCPD or as the Question take precedence over her romantic life.
        The one force that could turn Renee into a tokenized lesbian is, of course, Harley Quinn.
  2. Phelps
    June 22, 2024
    LOL christ almighty, how do worryingly stupid crybaby dorks like you even have the brain function to wipe your ass correctly.
    1. devilman013
      June 22, 2024
      Go f**k yourself, a**hole.
      1. Phelps
        June 30, 2024
        LOL par for the course rage-fart reply from Princess Crybaby Neckbeard Dunce
      2. devilman013
        June 30, 2024
        Grow up, douchebag.
    2. Commenter with no name
      June 22, 2024
      Wow, what a thought provoking counter argument you’ve presented there. My reservations about this series have been completely flipped! I can tell that you’re a very well spoken intellectual. You should join a debate team with responses like that.
      1. Ravager
        June 23, 2024
        I like how you said that as if your childish insult was any better
      2. Phelps
        June 30, 2024
        Wow, what a laughably failed non-response from one of the regular braindead geek trolls here who decided to use an alt account just so you could upvote yourself straight after LOL
        Enjoy your MENSA meeting with the other tard who genuinely typed that Harley Quinn absolutely "CANT!" be in a noir era Batman show because she wasn't around in noir-era comics, Princess No Name X- )
  3. Ravager
    June 23, 2024
    Probably a mandate.
Madeleine
June 20, 2024
Unlike most people here I never watched Batman: The Animated Series beyond some clips online. In fact I never watched any Batman cartoons when I was younger. I've been considering watching this since I too am dissatisfied with the comics.
I've liked what I've read about their version of Bruce. The modern comics put him on trial in every run. I welcome a series where he is a driven young man who works alone or in the company of capable adults like Gordon and Alfred.
I'm not happy with what I've read about their version of Harvey. Timm calling him "kind of a schnook" was a real turn off; the term is a blatant insult. I want more stories that focus on Harvey's heroic side but I'm suspicious that they're setting him up as a foil for Harley who is not a character I like... Knowing this is an elseworld doesn't rinse out the bitter aftertaste.
1. Sara
  June 20, 2024
  I like their stated plans for Bruce, too. They need to get away from his personal life. The bigger the Bat-Family, the more Bruce will be pilloried for every thing he gets wrong as a father figure and leader. Modern comics Bruce is not Bruce. He's a vile imposter. I don't know him. This animated version sounds familiar.
  100% agreed about Harvey. I could live with a Two-Face based on the pretty okay version in Harleen, but their description made me think of Cliff Chiang's awful version in Catwoman: Lonely City. Gotta have an eeeeevil straight white male to pit against those righteous diverse lesbians, yeah?
  God, I want to be all enthusiastic, but something always goes against me.
  1. Madeleine
    June 20, 2024
    It's quite a blow because Bruce and Harvey are my favorites. When I saw his name in the list of characters I was excited to see a new version of their friendship and partnership take shape. This Bruce is mercifully free of his Batfamily but it sounds like he may have lost the kind of humanity the classic Batman had, someone who could make friends or hide under the DA's desk. Harvey was the only character they had anything negative to say about in this article with nothing positive... "Smarmy," "corrupt," a "schnook"?
    I really liked Timm's Two-Face story from the first Batman: Black and White anthology and felt he understood what made the character. He knew that Harvey wasn't moved by vanity but by sickness. I hope Timm hasn't forgotten. I don't want to judge too harshly based on one interview but this did not prime me to watch.
    1. Sara
      June 20, 2024
      Now that you mention it, maybe they're going too cold with this Bruce. But I like weird Bruce. As long as by "weird" they don't just mean "frigid loner." That's overdone. The humanity of the TAS Bruce, and of the villains, is one of its claims to fame.
      Many fans of Harvey Dent want to see him spend more time with Bruce, not less. And they want him to be written as a better man, not worse. So what does WB/DC do? Why, the obvious! They remake him into a schmoozy, hypocritical bastard.
      The desk scene was removed from the Year One animation adaptation. They want us to forget. Never! It was a funny, boyish think-on-your-feet moment for the two of them and all people of culture love it.
Commenter with no name
June 20, 2024
The more I hear about this show the less interested I get.
Why are they bothering to call this clown woman Harley Quinn? She has nothing in common with Harley except the name. The whole point of Harley is that she completely fell victim to The Joker’s manipulation and became obsessed with him. Yes I know Joker isn’t going to be part of this series, but that makes Harley’s involvement make even less sense. Bruce’s therapist should have been a brand new character.
Making Harvey Dent a corrupt a-hole never works. Harvey being a good man and a symbol of hope for Gotham is was makes his decent into madness tragic. A lot of Batman villains seem to be losing that element of tragedy lately. A big part of Batman’s no killing rule was because he believed that there is still hope for the criminals he fights. It doesn’t make sense anymore if all the villains are complete monsters even before they became criminals.
1. Sara
  June 20, 2024
  I think Bruce's therapist should have been Hugo Strange. Unlike attention hog Harley, he's a Golden Age character. He's also always been an unsympathetic monster, so if they wanted one villain like that for Season One, he'd have been the perfect fit.
  The changes to Harvey Dent are making me grit my teeth. They could have used him as a Robin Hood-type. No need to valorize Harley Quinn.
ChE_MovieFan
June 20, 2024
Oh, great, another anti-hero Harley... Harvey Dent is much more menacing as a tragically corrupted hero than an unsympathetic proxy for social justice crusaders. I think it's safe to say Paul Dini was the brains of BTAS. I'll probably pass on this one.
Also, can I just say how dumb it is that "Batman is the real guy" has to be reflected in the voice? Like, Bruce Wayne's real voice is Batman and his put-on voice is for Bruce? That's so impractical and ludicrous. Kevin Conroy is the only one who could pull it off where Bruce sounds more ridiculous than Batman. This new guy sounds terrible, and I'm not even comparing them, but Bruce Timm is overthinking all the wrong things.
Sara
June 21, 2024
Nobody asked for a retread. Not every change is going to be a cause for celebration. Some of the changes made to Harvey and Harley have been associated with bad writing of their characters for years.
Actual Facts
June 22, 2024
And the dumbest comment section of the year goes to.....
Pathetic, whiny, braindead crybaby geeks strike again, what a shocker.
This has BY FAR the single highest pedigree of talent for any Batman animated media since BTAS 30 f'n years ago, yet all the regular rage-farting dorkwads continue their laughably clueless bitching and moaning....and bitching....and bitching....and bitching.
It's almost as if (*GASP*) you dolts don't have any idea what you're talking about and
there's factually no pleasing you no matter what, so you resort to laughable "I could've dun it betta!!!!" garbage. No wonder the new Star Wars show/every single piece of Star Wars media since 1983 gets violently trolled by Team Moron Keyboard Warriors LOL.
Phelps
June 22, 2024
This site has always been a breeding ground of impossible-to-please, clueless crybaby geekoids, so it's really wasn't a surprise to see them whining about a pseudo-sequel to the universally acclaimed Batman The Animated Series.
Berkley
June 22, 2024
I'm looking forward to the new takes on Bruce and Selina. I've sorely missed Bruce as an investigator.
Timm and the others could have phrased their comments about Harvey Dent more sensitively. For now I choose to trust that the showrunners thought this out carefully, but nobody wants to see a sympathetic character made less so.
The thought of Harley getting preferential treatment is undeniably tugging at the back of my mind.
Very glad to hear Renee is in this.

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