Fans of the Adam West Batman series from 1966, rejoice! West and his co-star Burt Ward will lend their voices to an animated, film inspired by the old TV series. This will likely be a standalone project; it certainly will not connect to Warner’s Justice League films. West and Ward will star in one, possibly two films, with the first scheduled for 2016.
The 1966 Batman TV series was (in)famous for its campy tone, and introducing such gadgets as the Bat-Shark Repellent Spray. The series also featured Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, Cesar Romero as the Joker, and Julie Newmar, and later Eartha Kitt, as Catwoman. It ran for three seasons from 1966-1968 with a live-action film adaptation in 1966. The series has been referenced by many recent incarnations of Batman, most notably in Batman: The Animated Series – in the episode “Beware the Grey Ghost” it is revealed that part of Bruce Wayne’s inspiration for Batman came from an old TV super hero called the Grey Ghost (voiced by West).
While the announcement did not explicitly state that this will be a direct-to-video release, that seems likely given how Warner Bros. has released several animated DC Universe features outside of theaters. Since Dawn of Justice and Warner’s other planned live-action Justice League films will have their own continuity, releasing the animated films directly to video will minimize audience confusion.
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