On how long they've been developing the show:
Mitch Watson: "I've been working on this show for three years, and Glen's been working on it for two. It took us a full year just to come up with the version you'll see on the air this weekend. I think it was when Glen came on board with the idea that we do a new sort of rogues gallery that we discovered the version that finally made it into production for us to expand on."
On the selection of new and less recognizable characters to surround Batman:
Watson: "We didn't just sort of randomly pick villains from the lunch cart, as it were. We specifically wanted villains who were going to be able to highlight different aspects of Batman's personality. We didn't just want to tell stories where we went, "This dude is robbing a bank or hijacking a plane" or whatever. We didn't want to tell those stories at all. It's all about these villains and how they affect a different dynamic with Batman. It really works because you've seen so many shows and so many comics that focus on Catwoman's relationship with Batman or the Joker and Penguin's relationship with Batman. It's hard to tell anything new or see any new nuances with those stories. But when you stick a character in there like Professor Pyg or Magpie or Anarky, suddenly the relationship completely changes. These aren't characters you're used to see Batman playing against, so we get to see different aspects of Batman's personality while also exploring aspects of the new characters' personalities. It gives the characters a new vibe and really opens the show up."
Glen Murakami: " Another thing is, if we're going to do the show in CG, do we want to see guys in regular suits or street clothes fighting Batman? That was a thing for us. We needed to pick characters who looked visually interesting in 3D or showed something you hadn't seen before. We wanted the villains to have a strong look or a theme or even something you haven't seen Batman fight because it provides more fun in three dimensions. Like, they don't do reactive lighting very well in 2D. You can kind of fake it, but in this show, we can take an all-black Batman and put him in an all-black room and let light and shadows play around him. We felt like that's something people hadn't seen before."
The duo reveals that Barbara Gordon will also appear on the show:
Watson: "You'll see how Batman changes over the show as well as characters like Barbara Gordon or Lt. Gordon or Katana or Alfred. Every one of those characters will change, or this just becomes "Law & Order."
There's a lot more over at CBR with Murakami and Watson so click the source link below to read the full interview. And again, be sure to tune in tomorrow at 10AM for the series premiere.
UPDATE: Here's a new clip from tomorrow's premiere, which reveals Mister Terrific - Michael Holt!
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Running Time: 30 minutes
Season One Premiere: July 13, 2013
MPAA Rating: Tv-PG
Starring: Anthony Ruivivar, Sumalee Montano, JB Blanc, Greg Ellis, Kurtwood Smith, Udo Kier, Lance Reddick, Tisha Terrasini Banker, Cree Summer
Directed by: Sam Liu
Producers: Glen Murakami, Mitch Watson, Sam Register (executive producer)
"Beware the Batman" is an American produced animated cartoon program airing on Cartoon Network starting July 13, 2013. Sam Reigster serves as executive producer with Glen Murakami and Mitch Watson as the hands-on showrunners. The voice cast features Anthony Ruivivar as Batman, Lance Reddick ad Ra's Al Ghul, Cree Summer as Magpie, Sumalee Montano as Katana, JB Blanc as Alfred and Kurtwood Smith as Lt. Gordon."