Batman fans have a lot to look forward to in the near future with The Batman releasing in theaters in just a couple months, but another upcoming project that is getting fans of The Dark Knight excited is Bruce Timm’s new show Batman: Caped Crusader. Timm co-created the legendary Batman: The Animated Series back in the 90s and much has been kept quiet about this new Batman story. However, knowing that J.J. Abrams and The Batman director Matt Reeves is going to be executive producing the project alongside James Tucker and Timm has held us over until more news dropped. Thankfully, now we know who one of the writers on the series will be. According to The Hollywood Reporter, comic book writer Ed Brubaker is joining the show as the head writer and executive producer.
Brubaker is best known at Marvel for co-creating The Winter Soldier, but in terms of DC he wrote the Catwoman comics in the early 2000s with artist Darwyn Cook. He also co-created/co-wrote Gotham City Central which focused on the police efforts in the crime heavy city and has written critically acclaimed original comics such as Reckless and Criminal.
Brubaker credited Batman: The Animated Series for his interest in superhero comics telling THR, “Here’s something few people know, but the original Batman: The Animated Series was one of the things that made me want to write superhero comics in general, and Batman in particular”. He would continue by saying:
“If not for what Bruce Timm and all the talented writers and artists did with that show, things like my revamp of Catwoman with Darwyn Cooke (who worked on BTAS) and Gotham Central with Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, would never have happened. So when Bruce Timm offered me the chance to come work on this new reimagining of Batman with him, James Tucker, J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, I jumped at it.”
Batman: The Animated Series has influenced many creators over the years and many fans see the character of Batman as how he was portrayed in that award winning series. Even though this is not a direct continuation of that show, Timm has described this series in the past as, “more Batman: The Animated Series than Batman: The Animated Series”, without the restrictions that they had back in the 90s when that show originally premiered.
Brubaker also shared an early sketch of Batman’s design in the show which is very reminiscent of how he looked in the early comics with the long exaggerated ears and short finless gloves. The writer finished off his statement to THR by giving fans a hint at the vibe of Cape Crusader saying:
"Their vision for the show, with a slightly more pulpy take on the character, and a new way of looking at the world of Gotham, set in the past but viewed through a modern lens really sold me, and so far every part of it has been a blast to work on. I can’t wait until the rest of the world can see what we’ve been building the last few months in the writers room. All I can say is, it’s not what anyone is expecting … but in a good way."
The show being set in the past has been touched on before and describing the series as “pulpy” further brings home the more noir, detective driven, type of narrative the series is looking to invoke. Brubaker will be heading the writers room with Timm and THR has also confirmed that the series first season will consist of 10 episodes. There is no release date as of yet, but the series looks to premiere on both HBO Max and Cartoon Network in the near future. For all the latest news on Batman: Caped Crusader, stick with Collider.