Fans at this year's San Diego Comic-Con were treated to an early screening of Batman: Caped Crusader, but the biggest news to come out of the panel relates to a potentially divisive casting decision.
While fans of the Dark Knight's corner of the DC Universe will know the vigilante typically matches wits with Oswald Cobblepot, this 1940s version will have to contend with a new, female Penguin called Oswalda Cobblepot.
Entertainment Weekly (via ComicBookMovie.com) caught up with Minnie Driver to discuss her role in the upcoming Prime Video series and the Good Will Hunting star had no qualms about reinventing the iconic character. "That's what's so brilliant about what he's reimagined. The expansion of this particular character feels so timely. For such a vintage noir show, it's incredibly modern."
Driver will alsg sing as Batman: Caped Crusader's Penguin, another challenge she was quick to embrace...despite not knowing that was the plan for the villain!
"I didn't know it when I went into the studio. It's a big jazz standard," Driver tells the site. "The sound engineer was a musician. I was freaking out, and he asked for 20 minutes. He got his guitar out and we sat there and worked it out. He was the most brilliant accompanist. It was him who really gave me the confidence, because I had to belt it. I grew up singing in jazz clubs, and I didn't know it."
While some will surely accuse the animated series of going "woke," this ultimately feels like a fun reinvention of a Batman villain we've seen on screen countless times over the years (both in live-action and animation). Plus, Driver feels like a great fit for the role!
You can see Batman: Caped Crusader's Oswalda Cobblepot in the newly released image below.
Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the BATMAN. His one-man crusade for justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.
The series is a reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens of executive producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves and Bruce Timm. Batman: Caped Crusader hails from Warner Bros. Animation, Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Reeves' 6th & Idaho.
Along with Abrams, Reeves and Timm, the show's executive producers include Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich, and Sam Register.
Confirmed Batman: Caped Crusader cast members include Midnight Mass star Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) as Harley Quinn, Christina Ricci (Wednesday) as Catwoman, and Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) as Harvey Dent.
Other actors lending their voices to the series in currently undisclosed roles include Minnie Driver, Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, McKenna Grace, Jason Watkins, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment, and Toby Stephens.
Batman: Caped Crusader premieres on Prime Video on August 1.