When Batman's in the room you shouldn't say, 'Oh, yeah, it's Batman...hey, how you doing, Batman?' It's like, no, 'Who is this weird guy?""
Timm has more claim than most to know Gotham's elusive avenger. If not fast friends they must, at least, be on nodding terms in the shadows. Back in the early '90s he was one of the key creative forces behind Batman: The Animated Series, a stylish, retro-flavoured take on the DC icon, smarter, cooler and altogether more Emmy-winning than the usual network 'toon. Now he's back with Batman: Caped Crusader, a series that finally makes good on his original vision for the Dark Knight and his world. Welcome to the 1940s, Mac...
TIMELESS CHARM
"We decided early on that we didn't want it to be a continuation of B:TAS," Timm tells SFX of the ten-episode debut season that boasts Matt Reeves and JJ Abrams as executive producers.
"We wanted to use a lot of the same building materials but do something different with them, so that we weren't just doing remakes of the old shows, or sequels to the old stories.
"The decidedly period nature of it is something that I really wanted to do, going back to the beginning of B:TAS. If I'd had my way I would have set that show directly in the '40s, but during the development process it became apparent that would probably have been a sticking point in terms of all the different people we'd have to get approvals from, like Fox Kids and the toy companies.
"The writers were like, 'It's so much more convenient if we have TV and computers...' It just became this more wishy-washy, retro-ish world."
"We wanted this to feel as though it was made in the '40s, whereas B:TAS didn't feel like that," adds executive producer James Tucker, a fellow veteran of DC's animated universe. "It had a '40s milieu, if you will, but it's still very much a '90s show."
This story is from the September 2024 edition of SFX UK.
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This story is from the September 2024 edition of SFX UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ANCER MAHAGEMENT
WITH A NEW TRILOGY IN SIGHT, WE SPEAK TO THE DIRECTOR OF 28 WEEKS LATER THE ORIGINAL CHILLING SEQUEL TO DANNY BOYLE'S SEMINAL SURVIVAL HORROR
WHO YA CONNA CALL?
BEHIND THE SCENES AT HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS FOR GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL
THE DEVIL'S HOUR STRIKES TWICE AS THE GENREDEFYING DRAMA RETURNS
SCARRY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
FROM THE RETURN OF EC COMICS TO SCREAM!, THIS YEAR'S HALLOWEEN OFFERS UP HORROR COMICS FOR ALL THE AGES
UNDEADS REFLECTIONS
NEIL JORDAN ON BRINGING ANNE RICE'S MODERN VAMPIRE CLASSIC TO SCREEN, 30 YEARS ON
MUNSTER MASH!
PRODUCTION HELL, SHOCK RECASTING AND HOTLY CONTESTED AUTHORSHIP. AS THE MUNSTERS CELEBRATE THEIR 60TH ANNIVERSARY, WE UNCOVER HOW THE SPOOKY SITCOM WAS ALMOST DEAD ON ARRIVAL
COMING TO AMERICA
THE MOGWAI LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THEIR SECOND CHAPTER, GREMLINS: THE WILD BATCH
BEING HUMAN EVOLUTION
IT MAY HAVE BEEN AN INSTANT HIT, BUT BBC THREE'S DARKLY COMIC DRAMA ABOUT A HOUSE-SHARING VAMPIRE/WEREWOLF/GHOST TRIO HAD A STRANGE JOURNEY TO THE SCREEN, SERIES CREATOR TOBY WHITHOUSE TELLS SFX
THE MAINE EVENT
THE DARK IS RISING IN SALEM'S LOT AS STEPHEN KING'S DEATHLESS TALE RETURNS TO THE SCREEN
WHY DON'T YOU STAY FOR A BITE?
THE VAMPIRE COMES HOME AS DIRECTOR EUROS LYN WELCOMES SFX TO HIS NEW DARK COMEDY THE RADLEYS
