I felt that, with all the hubub of the oncoming release of The Dark Knight Rises, it would be good timing to do my first Batman fancast that actually featured the character.
In 2006-07, writer-artist Matt Wagner wrote and drew two popular and critically-praised Batman miniseries that connected to one another, each of them Post-Crisis retellings of two of Batman's earliest Golden Age adventures: "Batman and the Monster Men", and "Batman and the Mad Monk".
In "Monster Men", Batman encounters Professor Hugo Strange for the first time, as he tries to bring down crime boss Sal Maroni and uncover the mystery behind a string of horrible murders. In "The Mad Monk", the Caped Crusader must confront the vampiric leader of the Brotherhood of Eternal Night cult and his assistant, Dala. Both stories take place after "Batman: Year One", and involve Bruce Wayne's first love, Julie Madison (now presented as a law student and socialite) and her father Norman, a man troubled by his dealings with Moroni.
I just read "Monster Men" for the first time, and it was really impressive. I hope I get the same feeling from reading "Mad Monk". I decided that both would make for a good double-feature animated film. So, here's the layout:
-It would act as a sequel to "Batman: Year One" the animated film.
-Side A would be "Monster Men", and Side B would be "Mad Monk".
-The art and animation style would be based on Wagner's (it really looks like it was made for animation).
-The DVD cover would feature original art by Brian Bolland.
-Some of the gore would be slightly toned-down--we do need to think of the kids on this one. I'd hope it would get down to at least PG-13 (or 14 at best).
And now, enough of my yappin', here is my voice cast for this picture:
Jon Bernthal as the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne
Of course, The Walking Dead inspired this pick (though I have never watched an episode--not a fan of 'rotting corpse' zombies). Bernthal's name has been tossed around for the likes of Wolverine and other characters in live-action, but I think he would be great voicing the Dark Knight. If Ben Mckenzie could do it, Bernthal could.
Anna Paquin as the voice of Julie Madison
I picked her based on (obviously) the X-Men films and True Blood, but those were secondary reasons. Mainly it was because of her VA experience--she voiced the leads in Mosaic and Steamboy, and I thought the role of Ms. Madison would be a nice change of pace for this former Oscar-winner.
Tim Curry as the voice of Alfred Pennyworth
I'm honestly surprised no one's thought of casting Tim as the voice of Alfred--he's got a great amount of VA experience, AND he's English! I seriously think he'd be a great Alfred.
Bryan Cranston reprising the voice of Jim Gordon
Cranston is the only "Year One" cast member I've brought over for this film, since the Dark Moon Rising stories follow it. Everybody pretty much agrees Cranston is an EXCELLENT Jim Gordon.
George Wendt as the voice of Norman Madison
THAT'S right--I picked Norm from Cheers. But Wendt has done his fair share of the dramatic, such as the 1989 BBC production of "Oblomov", the Columbo episode "Strange Bedfellows", and the 2006 "Masters of Horror" episode "Family", and productions of "Twelve Angry Men". I thought he would be a great voice for Norman, who is quite the tortured soul in both "Monster Men" and "Mad Monk".
Paul Sorvino as the voice of Salvatore Maroni
Sorvino is one of those actors who is so good at playing mobsters (and I don't mean to typecast, honest). After seeing him in The Rocketeer (which I saw for the first time two weeks ago), I felt he would be a great Boss Maroni.
John Lithgow as the voice of Professor Hugo Strange
I picked Lithgow based on two of his film roles: Dr. Lizardo in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" (ironic, considering his co-star Peter Weller's been cast as Batman as of late) and Lord Farquat in "Shrek" (since like Strange, he's a short, scheming chap). I believe he would absolutely do a great voice for Strange.
Kunal Nayyar as the voice of Sanjay, Professor Strange's assistant
YES, it's Raj from The Big Bang Theory. But I just thought, like Paquin, this would be an interesting change of pace for him, playing a tough henchman instead of a smart astrophysicist.
Zachary Quinto as the voice of Niccolai Tepes, the Mad Monk
I picked Quinto since everyone here who saw "Heroes" thought he was a good villain. Since I hadn't seen that series, I'm just taking their word--but I am also taking into account the semi-coldness about him in the Star Trek film (which I DID see). I think that, have him do an Eastern European accent with a sinister tone of voice, and he'd nail the Monk. Besides--who couldn't resist the chance to play one of Batman's first villains??
Rose McGowan as the voice of Dala
I picked McGowan based on her roles in "Charmed", "The Black Dahlia", "Grindhouse", and Tala in the video game "Darkwatch". I think that, with an accent added, she'd have a great voice for this seductive would-be vampire.
Additional voices:
-Sean Donnellan as the voice of Harvey Dent
-Maurice LaMarche as the voice of Commissioner Grogan, a mobster, and a cultist
-Phil LaMarr as the voice of Danny (a police department office assistant), a cultist, getaway driver, cop
-Nolan North as the voice of Ritchie, interrogated dock worker, mobster, masked robber, and a Gotham cop
-Grey DeLisle as a socialite, a cultist, and a talk show host
-Frank Welker as wolf VFX and monster men VFX, a mobster, a cultist
-Fred Tatasciore as a corrupt Arkham doctor, monster men VFX, a cop, and a mobster
-Richard Moll as Carmine "The Roman" Falcone
-Eliza Dushku as Catwoman (cameo)
And that is that for our horror-themed Batfest! Now, to close today's fancast--ladies and gentlemen, Spain's own LOS BRAVOS: