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 {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
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
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
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
True Detective - The Only Way Is Essex for Jessica Jones in Lisa Jewell's first Marvel Crime novel
Known for bestselling psychological thrillers such as Then She Was Gone and The Family Upstairs, Jewell says she initially overemphasised the Marvel Universe’s fantastical elements before realising that she should simply trust her natural instincts. “I went too far on many occasions and had to keep cutting stuff out because I’d end up with stuff like a huge underground lab full of mad scientists,” she laughs.
Future Shock - Futurama's David X Cohen talks about what's in store for the show's ninth season
Futurama's David X Cohen talks about what's in store for the show's ninth season
Who Says
The Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz return - we're all ears
Parallel Doomsday
Terminator Zero creator Mattson Tomlin explains where the anime series fits within canon
Growing Your Hare
Daniel Kokotajlo talks about his '70s-set folk horror film Starve Acre
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
TRIPS INTO TREK HISTORY PROVIDE SOMETHING OLD AND SOMETHING NEW FOR STAR TREK: DISCOVERY COSTUME DESIGNER ANTHONY TRAN
DAY OF THE JACKAL
TALKING TIME, TECH AND MYSTERIES IN PART TWO OF OUR INTERVIEW WITH DOCTOR WHO SHOWRUNNER RUSSELL T DAVIES
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES IN VINTAGE STYLE IN BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER
BATMAN IS NOT FRIENDLY,\" insists Bruce Timm. \"He has to be weird. It's not just enough for him to dress up like a weirdo - he has to be a weirdo.
KAOS THEORY
THE LIVES OF GODS AND MEN ARE ENTWINED IN KAOS MEET THE TEAM BEHIND NETFLIX'S EPIC DARK COMEDY
POWER UP
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER SHOWRUNNERS JD PAYNE AND PATRICK MCKAY PROMISE PLENTY OF TOLKIEN TREATS IN SEASON TWO