The Blu-ray release date for director Jay Oliva’s animated feature Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 is rapidly approaching.  We have a new clip from the movie to tide you over until then.  If you missed it, here’s the trailer and first clip from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1, which features Frank Miller’s take on the aging Caped Crusader who returns after a ten-year hiatus to take down a ruthless street gang, the Mutants.  In this new clip, the leader of the Mutants (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams) has a few words to say about Batman and Commissioner Gordon.  Hit the jump to check it out and be sure to pick up a copy of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 when it’s available starting September 25th.

The first trailer for the animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s highly regarded graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns has gone online.  For those unfamiliar, the story takes place a decade after Bruce Wayne gave up being Batman and entered retirement.  The return of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent and a gang of criminals known as The Mutants force Wayne to don the suit once again, and he’s joined by a young girl taking on the persona of Robin in his quest.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 features Peter Weller as the voice of Batman, joined by David Selby as Comissioner Gordon, Ariel Winter as Robin, Wade Williams as Two-Face, and Michael McKean as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper.  Judging by the trailer, it looks like director Jay Oliva has brought the goods, and fans of Miller’s story should be quite pleased.  Hit the jump to watch for yourself.  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 will be released on Blu-ray on September 25th.

Casting news updates at a glance:

• Stephen Colbert (Monsters vs Aliens) and Allison Janney (Phineas and Ferb) have been cast in the DreamWorks animated production of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, starring Ty Burrell (Modern Family) and Max Charles (The Amazing Spider-Man) voicing the title roles.
• Ian McShane (Snow White and the Huntsman) will join Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead), Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation) and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) in dance-off comedy, Cuban Fury.

Hit the jump for more.

Last year, Warner Premiere released an animated adaptation of Frank Miller‘s popular graphic novel, Batman: Year One.  However, the popularity of that book pales in comparison to one of the most influential comics of all-time, The Dark Knight Returns.  Along with Watchmen, Returns was a major deconstruction of the superhero genre, and pushed it into a more violent and gritty direction.  Miller’s take on the Batman universe showed Dark Knight as more of a fascist than a hero (you can skip Miller’s atrocious sequel series, The Dark Knight Strikes Again).  Although Christopher Nolan has eschewed a comic-book tone with his Batman movies, he has retained the themes of Miller’s 1986 comic.

Today, THR reports that WP is moving forward with an animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, and that they will split the feature into two-parts.  Hit the jump for more including the film’s voice cast.

Sitcom television has evolved quickly over the last decade. Yes, there’s still shows like Two and a Half Men, but the single camera, actually-filmed or faux-documentary style has freed half hour comedies from the set-based, laugh-tracked trappings of earlier generations (even M*A*S*H had a laugh track). Modern Family borrows much from The Office’s faux-documentary conceit, but as a portrait of a family (headed up by Ed O’Neil and his step-wife Sofia Vergara), the show is modern in its approach to what constitutes a family and familiar in how it makes its jokes. It’s multi-ethnic, with a homosexual son (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his partner (Eric Stonestreet), but then also with a Simpsons-inspired regular family (headed up by Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell). My review of Modern Family on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

In part of World Wrestling Entertainment’s multi-film effort to translate the histrionics from the ring to the screen, Stephen Herek (The Mighty Ducks) has signed on to direct Paul “Triple H” Levesque (Blade: Trinity) in the WWE Studios comedy The Chaperone.  Variety reports that the S.J. Roth script centers around “a getaway driver for a crew of bank robbers who is determined to go straight and be the best parent he can be to his daughter, while making amends with his ex-wife.”  Anabeth Gish, Kevin Corrigan, and Ariel Winter co-star.

This is one of nine upcoming films  for the wrestling corporation — all with budgets around $5 million — which feature such musclemen as John Cena, the Big Show, and Randy Orton in supporting roles.  The sports drama Legendary will kick things off on September 10, 2010.