Bruce Timm is excited for fans to see the upcoming Batman: Caped Crusader because this time, he didn't have to worry about the restrictions that he did with Batman: The Animated Series.
Because Batman: The Animated Series was technically a show meant for children, there were rules he had to abide by when making the show. With Batman: Caped Crusader not having those same obstacles while in production, he's excited to see what appears to be a much less family-friendly, much more brutally honest interpretation of The Dark Knight.
While talking with Variety, Peter Girardi revealed why Timm is so excited about his next Batman project. "It’s everything that Bruce Timm wanted to do in the original series [the 1992 “Batman, the Animated Series”] but because it ran on a kid’s channel, he wasn’t able to do it," Girardi said. "So this definitely skews older. It’s more of his complete vision."
Despite the obstacles in the 1990s, Timm and Co. new how to work their way around them to make a pretty terrifying show while also making it "appropriate" for children. For example, despite not being allowed to show the sadistic maniac that is The Joker killing anyone in Batman: The Animated Series, they still made him iconically petrifying. They also managed to write humanized backstories for Batman villains that did not previously get such depth, like when they made Mr. Freeze an antihero who wasn't a criminal looking for a score or a psychopath out for blood. Instead, he was out for revenge after his wife was taken from him.
This only makes one wonder how they'll do now that they will no longer have to wear kid gloves while creating this new version of Batman. Fans may get the darkest interpretation of Batman yet if they aim this at adults. Fans have had dark versions of Batman, like the ones starring Michael Keaton, psychological thrillers, like the ones starring Christian Bale, and even a noir mystery like The Batman, which came out last year. Batman's had some excellent interpretations on the big screen. Let's see if an adult version of him could bring another side of him yet to be seen by the fans.
Hopefully, they won't go too overboard with the fewer restrictions. While being able to target adults is nice, they shouldn't overdo it with more cuss words, more gore, or even nudity if that is an option. Making the material more brutal can be better, but whether it will is another story. There is a point where going hard with the adult rating will make your audience roll their eyes. Hopefully, they will focus on telling a Batman story above all else.
Batman: Caped Crusader is currently in production.
Source: Variety