Prime Video's Batman: Caped Crusader promises to put a completely new spin on the iconic DC Comics character. However, when the series was first announced, many fans hoped it might serve as a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series.
After all, it had been confirmed that producers Matt Reeves (The Batman) and J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) would be joined by the creative mastermind behind the classic series, Bruce Timm.
Instead, the show - which was offloaded by Warner Bros. Discovery to Amazon after originally being developed for Max - will take us to 1940s Gotham City and "Week Two" of Bruce Wayne's time as Batman.
Talking to Empire Magazine (via Screen Rant), Timm revealed that Batman: Caped Crusader will make a major change to Bruce's transformation into a masked vigilante...specifically in regards to when he chooses to suit up.
"The slightly different take that we're doing on it is that at night, when he's lying in bed reliving the murders of his parents again and again in his head, it's so upsetting and so horrifying that the way he copes with it is he decides, right then and there, I'm going to declare war on crime," Timm explains.
"And so literally from that point on, even though he's eight, he's kind of Batman already..."
This is a contrast from Bruce usually deciding to become Batman as an adult, though we perhaps shouldn't be surprised the Caped Crusader will shake things up a little given how unique its approach to the DC Universe looks.
You can relive the Batman: Caped Crusader trailer 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.