It's no secret that the modern take on Batman is a bit darker than the campy approach that dominated the 1966 television series. During a panel at Phoenix Comicon this past weekend, the show's stars Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar took to the stage to discuss the classic and beloved series, as well as the evolution of the Dark Knight and his transition into a more serious tone.
As far as Newmar's thoughts, she said,
“We come from light and funny times in the sixties when there was a lot of hope and we were living in a marvelous world. There was Kennedy. There was great art and everything. And then we have now. And then we had the dark ages. And then we had the dark Batman. And then they had the darker Batman."
“You want to live a long life? Have fun! Don’t stay in fear, and don’t let anybody scare you. And that goes for all the politics.”
Adam West then chimed in, saying,
“We have of course observed the changes, and it’s become dark and gothic and highly explosive in special effects. And Batman kills more people on the way to the rescue than the villains do.”
“But it’s ok, because they do their thing with a lot of talent and money and attention. We did ours. It was just different. We were the Bright Knight, the fun ones.”
Check out the full video for their panel here:
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James lives in Portland, OR and writes for a number of sites including WhatCulture, We Got This Covered, Talk Backer, and Comic Book Movie.