Batman-Online.com

QuoteA time-honored Batman tale is coming to the screen with the animated Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One. Supernatural's Jensen Ackles leads the cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne after previously voicing Jason Todd/Red Hood in 2010's Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Among the ensemble voice cast is Naya Rivera, the late Glee star who died in July. Rivera completed her voice work as Catwoman/Selina Kyle for The Long Halloween, which will be a two-part project, with Part One expected to bow this spring or summer.

Other stars include Josh Duhamel as Harvey Dent, Billy Burke as James Gordon, Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone, David Dastmalchian as Calendar Man, Troy Baker as Joker, Amy Landecker as Barbara Gordon, Julie Nathanson as Gilda Dent, Jack Quaid as Alberto, Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy and Alastair Duncan as Alfred. Other voice work was performed by Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray and Jim Pirri.

Chris Palmer, known for Superman: Man of Tomorrow, is directing from a script that reteams him with Man of Tomorrow screenwriter Tim Sheridan. Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau are producing.  Butch Lukic is the supervising producer, with Michael Uslan and Sam Register serving as executive producers.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/batman-the-long-halloween-part-one-sets-voice-cast-exclusive

Well, here we go. I've said that there are too many Godfatherisms for this thing to be faithfully adapted into film. I guess we'll see if I was right about that.

The still of Batman in the fog looks good tho. So far, it seems like a big step up in quality over previous animated features.

Would have preferred a better art style that reflects the comic. A large part of The Halloween's appeal, and that goes for Dark Victory and Haunted Knight, is the aesthetic. I'm not giving up on the finished product being worthwhile, but at the same time I can't see anything reaching the heights of TDK Returns. That was lightning in a bottle in terms of voice talent, soundtrack, animation and faithfulness to the material.

The fact we're getting two parts for The Long Halloween gives me hope they're doing this properly.

Going to be strange having Naya Rivera as Catwoman given her tragic passing last year. But I don't see any reason to replace her because of those circumstances. The film is a tribute to her, in the same way The Dark Knight was to Heath, or Batman v Two Face was to Adam West.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Thu,  1 Apr  2021, 23:43
Would have preferred a better art style that reflects the comic. A large part of The Halloween's appeal, and that goes for Dark Victory and Haunted Knight, is the aesthetic.

This is my only gripe so far. The Dark Knight Returns movies were the last DCAU Batman films to really try and capture the specific art style of the comic on which they were based. One of the many problems I had with the Gotham by Gaslight film was that they didn't even attempt to adapt the distinctive look of Mike Mignola's art work. The Hellboy animated movies were slightly more successful in that regard.

Still, I'm willing to give The Long Halloween a chance. Just so long as the filmmakers don't change the identity of the villain like they did with the Gotham by Gaslight and Hush films...

TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

That's an issue tho, isn't it? I mean, BB, TDK and even The Batman animated series kinda riffed on TLH. I won't say TLH has been mined as heavily as Year One or TDKR. But TLH has definitely been covered. So, aside from the Holiday angle, what's left?

The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too. 2008's TDK used a lot of the iconic imagery and plot elements already, but I think there's wiggle room for something else.

TDK had Joker targeting people but it wasn't a murder mystery. Everybody knew he was responsible.

Selina's connection to Falcone hasn't been explored in live action.

TLH has Bruce arrested, claiming Thomas Wayne saved Falcone's life and Bruce is loyal to the Falcones. They can make this a real plot point, ala the Telltale games.

The spirit of TLH is also about embracing a large rogues gallery.

TLH has been covered in the films but it's still the source material. We should receive the proper context of those references instead of variations.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43
TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 01:39
The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 03:01

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43
TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 03:01

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

The whole Batman/Gordon/Dent partnership has quite a curious literary genealogy. Batman Year One implied that a partnership of some kind existed between Batman and Dent.

But the first time I can recall the three-way partnership being shown is actually Batman Annual #14/Eye Of The Beholder from 1990. The influence that otherwise forgotten (but brilliant!) story had on TLH is pretty significant. I think a panel showing the trio meeting on a rooftop was even homaged in TLH.

I mention it because EOTB is one of those Batman stories that's become tragically overlooked over the years. I don't think it's been frequently reprinted

One interesting point is that Chris Sprouse's art always seemed like a worthy spiritual successor to David Mazzucchelli. I bought EOTB when it was new on the stands as wee ol' laddie and since I was obsessed with BY1 at the time, EOTB felt like an actual follow up to BY1.

For those reasons, it's always strange for me when people point back to TLH as the starting point of the three-way partnership when it goes at least as far back as EOTB. And in times like that, I see it as a chance to do some free advertising for EOTB, a freaking awesome Two-Face story. Which was, until TLH came along, pretty much my definitive Post-Crisis Two-Face origin story.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 04:59

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 01:39
The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 03:01

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43
TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Oh yeah, a lot actually. I'm planning on doing a podcast that'll cover the Batman movies. However, I wanted to know the comics inside and out before I start doing it. So I made the somewhat foolish decision to try and read every Batman comic, Detective Comic, Legends of The Dark Knight, Graphic Novel, and one shot. I'm skipping things like Justice League or Batman and The Outsiders because it would just take me too long.

I read the first 3-4 years of The Golden Age and just lost interest in that time period at some point. So I skipped ahead to the Bronze Age. So far I've read every Batman comic from the 70's and 80's, and I'll be transitioning over to the 90's pretty soon. I'll be reading No Man's Land, and Knightfall for the first time. Also, anything past Long Halloween is something that I have yet to read.

Once I get caught up to modern Batman comics I do plan to circle back to try and finish The Golden Age and Silver Age.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 05:44

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 03:01

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

The whole Batman/Gordon/Dent partnership has quite a curious literary genealogy. Batman Year One implied that a partnership of some kind existed between Batman and Dent.

But the first time I can recall the three-way partnership being shown is actually Batman Annual #14/Eye Of The Beholder from 1990. The influence that otherwise forgotten (but brilliant!) story had on TLH is pretty significant. I think a panel showing the trio meeting on a rooftop was even homaged in TLH.

I mention it because EOTB is one of those Batman stories that's become tragically overlooked over the years. I don't think it's been frequently reprinted

One interesting point is that Chris Sprouse's art always seemed like a worthy spiritual successor to David Mazzucchelli. I bought EOTB when it was new on the stands as wee ol' laddie and since I was obsessed with BY1 at the time, EOTB felt like an actual follow up to BY1.

For those reasons, it's always strange for me when people point back to TLH as the starting point of the three-way partnership when it goes at least as far back as EOTB. And in times like that, I see it as a chance to do some free advertising for EOTB, a freaking awesome Two-Face story. Which was, until TLH came along, pretty much my definitive Post-Crisis Two-Face origin story.

I'm starting to read Batman comics from 1990 so I'll get to Eye of The Beholder soon enough. I certainly thought Long Halloween originated the partnership between those 3 characters.

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 23:02

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 04:59

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 01:39
The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 03:01

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43
TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Oh yeah, a lot actually. I'm planning on doing a podcast that'll cover the Batman movies. However, I wanted to know the comics inside and out before I start doing it. So I made the somewhat foolish decision to try and read every Batman comic, Detective Comic, Legends of The Dark Knight, Graphic Novel, and one shot. I'm skipping things like Justice League or Batman and The Outsiders because it would just take me too long.

I read the first 3-4 years of The Golden Age and just lost interest in that time period at some point. So I skipped ahead to the Bronze Age. So far I've read every Batman comic from the 70's and 80's, and I'll be transitioning over to the 90's pretty soon. I'll be reading No Man's Land, and Knightfall for the first time. Also, anything past Long Halloween is something that I have yet to read.

Once I get caught up to modern Batman comics I do plan to circle back to try and finish The Golden Age and Silver Age.

There's lots of content waiting for you and there's no better time than the present. A better understanding of the comics is essential in taking any fandom to the next level given just how prevalent the various influences are. I'm sure you'll find yourself enjoying things a lot more than what you do already.

I don't listen to many podcasts, but if you sent a link I'd give yours a listen.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 23:26

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 23:02

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 04:59

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 01:39
The Reeves movie will has TLH influences too.

Noticed this sloppy jumble of words just now. Don't drink and type while tired.

Quote from: BatmanFurst on Sat,  3 Apr  2021, 03:01

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri,  2 Apr  2021, 23:43
TLH is one of several books that I find to be rock solid all time classics that will always be immovable in Batman graphic novel rankings. I'd count about six others which have that reputation. Those being The Long Halloween, TDK Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum and Knightfall. There are lots of other good stories (Court of Owls, The Cult, Dark Moon Rising, etc) but I think these take on special significance.

TLH deserves a worthy adaption, especially given the way the films have mined it for material.

I just read it for the first time last year. I was surprised at how much The Dark Knight took from that book.

TDK covered a lot. The Dent campaign, the rooftop meeting, burning piles of cash, a transfer to draw out a killer and Dent's transformation. Are there any other well known Batman comics you haven't read?

Oh yeah, a lot actually. I'm planning on doing a podcast that'll cover the Batman movies. However, I wanted to know the comics inside and out before I start doing it. So I made the somewhat foolish decision to try and read every Batman comic, Detective Comic, Legends of The Dark Knight, Graphic Novel, and one shot. I'm skipping things like Justice League or Batman and The Outsiders because it would just take me too long.

I read the first 3-4 years of The Golden Age and just lost interest in that time period at some point. So I skipped ahead to the Bronze Age. So far I've read every Batman comic from the 70's and 80's, and I'll be transitioning over to the 90's pretty soon. I'll be reading No Man's Land, and Knightfall for the first time. Also, anything past Long Halloween is something that I have yet to read.

Once I get caught up to modern Batman comics I do plan to circle back to try and finish The Golden Age and Silver Age.

There's lots of content waiting for you and there's no better time than the present. A better understanding of the comics is essential in taking any fandom to the next level given just how prevalent the various influences are. I'm sure you'll find yourself enjoying things a lot more than what you do already.

I don't listen to many podcasts, but if you sent a link I'd give yours a listen.

Yeah it really is the best time to dive into the archives because thanks to things like DC Universe and other websites these comics are readily available.

I'll be sure to post the episodes here whenever they get made. Probably won't be for another year or so.

The first trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ7wbwkzNS0

I said what I said about the animation style, but this looks promising. If it maintains this type of atmosphere and doesn't deviate too much from the source material it could turn out okay.

That's not actually Mark Hamill as the Joker... but Troy Baker is trying lamf to sound like him. Not sure what to think of that. The mid-Atlantic accent works for me when Hamill does it. But I don't think I want that to be a permanent fixture of the Joker's speaking voice.

All in all, this thing is showing promise. Still, I do wish the voice cast of the animated Year One feature could've returned for TLH. Easier said than done, perhaps. But TLH's is a sequel to Year One so I think it capitalizing on that was logical. Would've, should've, could've, obviously it's not happening that way.

The fact that this is a two-parter gives me hope. Based on exactly nothing, I'm operating on the assumption that the break point will be Harvey becoming Two-Face. But we'll see how this plays out.

The rapid turnaround between the movies is interesting. "Summer 2021" and "Fall of 2021". It makes sense, when you think about it. "Not as hot as the night Johnny Viti got married" presumably in the first one and the actual words "The Long Halloween" being spoken in the part coming near actual Halloween. Plus, releasing them so close together could create momentum, if part one is good.

I'm interested. But I'd prefer no more radical changes to stories like we got with Gotham By Gaslight.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Wed,  7 Apr  2021, 01:48
The fact that this is a two-parter gives me hope.

The parallels to TDK Returns are there and I think two parts are justified. With content so good it's on them if the movie fails to deliver. There's plenty of material for them to use before they start inventing their own.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Wed,  7 Apr  2021, 01:48
Based on exactly nothing, I'm operating on the assumption that the break point will be Harvey becoming Two-Face.

Very possible. Part 2 has been rated R for violence and bloody images.

https://collider.com/batman-the-long-halloween-movie-rating-r/

Looks pretty good, but I'm not very happy about Troy Baker's involvement. I'm not interested in impersonations. If Hamill isn't participating, give someone out there an opportunity. Let's move on. I'd actually like to here a Lithgow Joker, just to toss out a name. Animation makes for many opportunities and frankly, Mark Hamill isn't dead. He hasn't been dead 20 or 40 years, this kind of nostalgia for a performance is obscene when the guy is alive and kicking. If you can get him, hell yeah, roll with it. If not, lets get somebody with a take. You never know what you might find. A creative adaptation, I think, does have some obligation to find its own voice.

I was unsure about Jensen Ackles voicing Batman but so far he's surprisingly okay. I don't dislike Troy Baker but agree his casting was unnecessary here. If there's a new Batman you may as well have a new Joker.

I'm finding myself interested in the overall project, though.

The date is June 22, 2021.

(https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Batman-TheLongHalloween-BD-Boxart2.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)

The concern I've got is that the door to new portrayals of the Joker may be closing. In the voiceover world, it seems like a lot of what we've seen is a variation on either Ledger or Hamill.

One thing that made Hamill himself so innovative is that he made the character his own on BTAS. He didn't try copying Romero, Nicholson or anyone else. He just took the character in his own direction, damn the consequences and full speed ahead. The result is a vast series of iconic performances that make him one of the greats among Joker actors.

I don't know if Baker is intentionally copying Hamill or if some jackass is telling him "Skip being 'creative', just give us a Hamill impression because we can't afford him". Either way, I don't think this is good for the character. I don't rly read the Joker bits of TLH in Hamill's voice anyway. I actually envisioned TLH Joker's voice closer to something like Ledger's voice long before Nolan ever came along.

I'll give everything in this movie a fair shot. I'm just saying it's a shame that Baker isn't being more original (for whatever reason).

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Fri,  9 Apr  2021, 23:53
The concern I've got is that the door to new portrayals of the Joker may be closing. In the voiceover world, it seems like a lot of what we've seen is a variation on either Ledger or Hamill.

John DiMaggio was a nice change of pace in Under The Red Hood, which is one of my favorite Batman stories. He sounds serious and intimidating. Elements of brightness to his voice but you can tell he's grittier.

Michael Emerson is one of my favorite actors and was a mighty fine Joker, being cold and calculating. Not phased by anything and in control. A zen like peace about him especially after being comatose for so long.

Anthony Ingruber was John Doe/Joker in the Telltale games. He's underrated. A friendlier, excitable approach that has a sense of frustrated longing about it. Which is perfect for what this portrayal is about: a possessive stalker.

These three Joker performances are one and done but worthwhile. Especially Emerson.

Joaquin Phoenix was playing Arthur Fleck so he didn't change his voice that much. But you see a change in personality. How he pronounced Murray's name in a mockingly playful way. And how he pronounced 'funny' when he said "the same way you decide what's funny or not." It's a general tone of the guy not giving two hoots and just expressing himself in a liberated way. Great stuff.