It's been confirmed today (via Vanity Fair) that Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere on Prime Video on August 1. We've also learned that the animated TV show's cast will be headlined by Midnight Mass star Hamish Linklater as the titular Dark Knight.
There's news on other cast members too, including Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) as Harley Quinn, Christina Ricci (Wednesday) as Catwoman, and Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) as Harvey Dent.
The series, which had been set for a Max debut before it was offloaded to Amazon, is produced by Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams. It will launch with a 10-episode first season that pulls inspiration from Batman's earliest comic book adventures.
"There were certain things that I had in my mind back in the early '90s for the original Batman: The Animated Series that I didn’t get to do," Timm says. "I wanted to do this emotionally messed-up version of Batman, who’s extremely aloof and almost inhuman."
Talking about playing the iconic DC Comics superhero, Linklater reveals, "I think it’s actually off my memory of Kevin Conroy’s voice. When I actually rewatched the shows, I realized that it was different, but I had him in my head."
"Bruce Wayne is the mask. He’s the secret identity. He’s the invention. Batman is the actual character, the actual guy," the actor adds. "It’s set in the ’40s, [so I just thought of] how Batman would try to play himself off as a playboy socialite. I think I just tried to swing and swing and swing until I made contact with something."
Despite what looks like a much darker tone, Batman: Caped Crusader will not be TV-MA and will seemingly be suitable for fans of all ages.
Other actors lending their voices to Batman: Caped Crusader 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.
More comments and details can be found by following the link below, but the teaser just shared by Prime Video also teases more of the characters set to appear in Batman: Caped Crusader. It also reveals Linklater's Batman voice...