Today was a huge day for Batman and DC Comics fans in San Diego. Along with the premiere of an incredible four minute trailer for November’s Justice League blockbuster, came the announcement of three brand new animated movies, two of them Batman related.
Gotham By Gaslight
The first release will be Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, an adaptation of the first Elseworlds graphic novel by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola. The story was a dark Gothic tale featuring Jack the Ripper and a Victorian era Dark Knight. It was so successful that it spawned a sequel, Batman: Master Of The Future; also written by Augustyn, but drawn by Eduardo Barreto.
Both stories were 50 page prestige format books, neither of which could fill a 60-90 minute movie. The animated piece could theoretically combine both stories, or perhaps feature an extended and more in-depth version of the original.
The use of familiar DC characters placed in completely new and unexpected settings helped DC create some truly spellbinding stories, and laid the foundations for many of the parallel worlds that make up the DC Multiverse.
The Return Of Task Force X
The next of the animated movies to be released will be Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. This film will be the first Suicide Squad project set within the DC Universe Original Movies’ shared continuity. This means that it won’t be a sequel to Assault On Arkham, which was set within the video game continuity. Assault was great entertainment. Many fans argue that it’s a better Suicide Squad movie than its live action counterpart. The fact that this will be a brand new story, set in the same universe as the recent Batman animated movies, should make it a sure-fire hit.
Up, Up And Away
The third project should please fans of the Man Of Steel. After the success of The Dark Knight Returns, DC are planning a pair of animated movies based on The Death Of Superman. A movie featuring Superman’s demise was released back in 2007, but was heavily chopped to fit into a 70 minute time-frame. Splitting the epic over two movies should make for a far more satisfying adaptation. I can’t wait to finally see Steel, Superboy, The Eradicator and The Cyborg Superman brought to life in animation.
DC make the very best super hero entertainment, so these three projects give us plenty to get excited about. I, for one, am most definitely looking forward to all these new animated movies. Gotham By Gaslight is a favorite.
What do you guys think? Be sure to let us know! We’ll keep posting all the news from San Diego as it happens.