Although it has been rumored for awhile, today the news is official — Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar return to Gotham City as the voices of the Dynamic Duo and the Feline Fatale in the new animated film Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. Just like the orginal 1966 Batman movie, this time Batman and Robin will face the quartet of Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and of course, Catwoman. The new film was made official by Warner Bros. Animation via a special announcement trailer at Entertainment Weekly, which you can view below.
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Batman television series, which ran from 1966-68, and was a seismic pop culture phenomenon which spawned merchandise galore, and at its peak, even a Batcave nightclub. For years after, many comic book fans hated the series, because the show was essentially one big joke at Batman’s (and the entire comic book medium’s) expense.
But truth be told, the show made Batman a household name to everyone in the world, brought back certain villains to the comics that had long been exiled (like Riddler and Catwoman). Most importantly, without the show, Batgirl/ Barbara Gordon would never have been created. When the show ended in 1968, DC Comics leaned hard into the opposite direction when it came to Batman comics, which is why we’ve had the Dark Knight version of the character and his world ever since. But none of this would have happened without the TV series. So it’s awesome that DC Comics and WB are finally willing to embrace the series in a proper way.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC Entertainment will release Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders on Digital HD on Oct. 11, and on Blu-ray on Nov. 1.
Are you excited about the return of the original Caped Crusaders to their iconic roles? Let us know down below in the comments.
Image: Warner Bros.
