New Clip Arrives From Animated 'The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1'
by Sean Comer
Bruce Wayne looks to have a long, reflective moment on a sleepless night in this latest preview of the upcoming animated "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1."
About a decade into retirement, Wayne wanders down Wayne Manor's halls to to the Batcave and finds himself reflecting on one of Batman's greatest tragedies: Robin/Jason Todd's murder at the Joker's hand. It's enough to alert a concerned Alfred from his sleep and ask what Master Wayne is doing once more in the bowels of the Gotham City estate.
It's a mostly dialogue-free clip, but one displaying the signature lines, well-placed shadow and expert shading of Warner Bros. animated efforts with Batman. Long string chords play in the background as Wayne looks upon Robin's suit. I t's grim, moody, contemplative - everything to be expected of the best moments the studio has had with the Caped Crusader.
For the purpose of this adventure, adapted from Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name, Peter Weller of "RoboCop" fame takes up the role of voicing Batman, taking the place of longtime voice performer Kevin Conroy. "Lost" veteran Michael Emerson will try to fill Mark Hamill's shoes voicing the Joker in a story of Wayne breaking a restless, indulgent retirement to take on a criminal gang known as The Mutants.
The reclusive, extended absence element was adapted - albeit, shortened to eight years instead of 10 - in Christopher Nolan's recent Batman finale "The Dark Knight Rises."
As the title implies, the story won't all be told in one shot. The first part hits store shelves on DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 25, whereas the second part is nebulously set to hit shelves in Spring 2013.