Rumor: Dark Knight Returns Slated for Animated Feature

[Soviet Heavy]

Well, this will be awesome. The last Batman animated film was bloody brilliant. I actually enjoyed Bender's take on The Joker.

The DC Animated films have always been pretty damn good.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

"This isn't a junk heap. It's an operating table. And I'm the surgeon."

OT: No. I will not be watching this if it comes out. I personally blame this and Watchmen for every "edgy" character that came out in the 90's except Cable and Deadpool. And Shatterstar.

He's a goddamned hack now.

Now?

 

[ANImaniac89]

Cool hope the rumors are true.
But if so I hope they change some of the more dated aspects of DKR's story and re-work so of the parts that wouldn't quite work (like the news commentary and Frank Miller's dialog and treatment of women)

I've been hoping for a DKR remake for awhile now.

 

[Darkauthor81]

Come on people, Batman is dull.

The single most ridiculous thing I have heard all month.

Actually I've found Batman has always been the least interesting character in any given comic/series/movie. He never changes and never grows because he's too popular to ever be tampered with while at the same time he's surrounded by far more colorful and versatile characters. His rouge gallery is full of characters much more interesting than he is.

 

[Callate]

Sin City was good. 300 had its pleasures. But I'm really kind of beginning to wish they'd find another writer to mine. The comics owe Miller a genuine debt for bringing some things to the table that were absent in the medium in the 90s, but those contributions aren't so deep and wonderous, especially in the 201x-es, that we need to revisit them in other media with such frequency.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Best news I've heard in a while.

If we're talking consistency, almost all the animated Batman features are frackin' awesome.

I doubt this will be any different.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Just don't do All-Star Batman and Robin and we're good.

 

[Trogdor1138]

This should be an amazing project, the DC Animated movies are fantastic. I was amazed with Red Hood (could be better than Mask of the Phantasm even) so this should be even better.

I need to re-read DKR sometime.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

This will either be awesome, or horrible.

I'm not sure which, but crossing fingers that Frank Miller has major involvement in this.

 

[Dorian6]

well, as long as they don't do the sequel or "All Star Batman and Robin," I'll be happy

 

[viranimus]

Animated.... without Conroy or Hamil? Just cant get as excited about it.
(Conroy might still be up for it, but Hamil claims he is done with the Joker /cry)

As for the whole Batman is Emo... I think you have Emo and Goth mixed up. If batman was emo, he would just remain Bruce wayne, burn Wayne enterprises to the ground, and cry about how its not fair how his mommy and daddy were taken away.

Granted he dwells a bit on that latter fact, but instead of wallowing in his misery, he uses that anger and sadness to do something about the problem that caused it.

 

[Dorian6]

but crossing fingers that Frank Miller has major involvement in this.

Gods i hope not. He used to be great but has apparently become insane with age. "All Star Batman and Robin" has to be the worst piece of crap to ever carry the batman title

 

[samsonguy920]

Heh, when I first saw this I was thinking of Dark Knight Rises. There would have been blood if that was the case.
But I like the idea of putting Frank Miller's stuff to animation. DC's been pretty dang good with what they put out, and it is about time to raise the bar.
I'm trying to think of those who would be great to match Michael Ironside if he can't do it, but Clancy Brown and Richard Moll are already pretty set in damn good DC roles.
Oh well, fingers crossed!

Animated.... without Conroy or Hamil? Just cant get as excited about it.
(Conroy might still be up for it, but Hamill claims he is done with the Joker /cry)

I can understand your hesitation, I wasn't too sure how good Adam Baldwin would be for Superman(Superman/Doomsday) when I am already trained on Tim Daly providing the man of steel's voice. It was spot-on.
I am about willing to bet, though, that if DC throws enough money at Mark, he will make an encore performance. His first statement of not returning to be the Joker was during Arkham Asylum being produced, and yet he has returned for Arkham City.
Seriously, how many celebrities actually commit to retirement?

 

[Reed Spacer]

Well, just as long as they don't do The Dark Knight Strikes Again as well.

I swear, that one made no sense at all.

 

[WolfThomas]

The Dark Knight Returns is arguably the best Batman story ever written, but I don't think it would translate well into an animated series that well. I don't know how apropriately the grimdark tone would be conveyed. I think The Long Halloween (arguably the second best Batman story) would actually make a better animated movie. It actually interesting that those two stories are written by people who are considered to have (to phrase politely) fallen quite low in quality in recent years.

On the topic of ASBAR, I actually found the comic pretty hillarious "goddamn you and your lemonade!", but it is pretty much trash.

And on the general for or against batman arguement that's happening here, I will say despite how much I like Batman, a GOOD Superman is nearly always better than a GOOD Batman story.

 

[Falseprophet]

Dark Knight Returns still has the newscasts.
Selina Kyle was a hooker in that one.
According to my trade copy, it still has the random word emphasis.
Batman goes toe-to-toe with Superman. The come even (briefly) points out that Batman's better due to lack of powers.

But let's ignore all this for a moment. We'll put all that in that back burner for now, while we chew in this food for thought:

If this rumor is true, then we're still talking about Frank Miller now, not Frank Miller in 1986.

He's a goddamned hack now.

Dark Knight Returns was a brilliant work, but like Watchmen, people took the wrong things from it. DKR works as a deconstruction of the Silver Age Batman. It breaks down when it gets used as a template for how Batman should be, something Grant Morrison is only managing to reconstruct now.

I also give the slightest bit of credence to the theory that All-Star Batman & Robin was Miller's way of saying, "so you loved Dark Knight Returns and Year One so much, eh? Let me show you what that Batman would really be like! Not so cool now, eh?" And finally the current writers and editors are understanding that.

 

[norwegian-guy]

I can see it now...

Every five minutes it cuts to a random newscast.
Every three words will be emphasized, no matter who's speaking or why.
Every female character will be a stripper or a hooker.
Batman will be put in a pedestal miles higher than any other DC hero (because HE doesn't have POWERS).

But hey, the story will be pretty cool, right?

could be worse. it could be an animated feature of Allstar: Batman & Robin

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

I'd watch an episode of All-Star Batman and Robin. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

 

[Tsaba]

Before we start talking anything batman, they must get Mark Hamill to do the joker, or this series will be a fail.

 

[Treaos Serrare]

holy fucking shit! if they do this like the watchmen animated comic i'm buying it outright