Thursday, July 7, 2011

[New post] More Batmania from cars to cats and video game boy wonders

More Batmania from cars to cats and video game boy wonders

There's lots of Batman news this morning...

Adam West, the bigger than life actor who once donned the all-too-form-fitting tights of Batman in 1966 is rumored to appear in next year's third and final Chris Nolan film centered on the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight Rises.

Christopher Nolan is delving back into superhero history by hiring former Batman Adam West to make a cameo appearance in new movie The Dark Knight Rises, according to a new report.

West played The Caped Crusader in longrunning 1960s TV show Batman before Michael Keaton brought the character to the big screen in the 1989 movie of the same name.

The superhero was also played by Val Kilmer and George Clooney prior to Nolan's reboot of the franchise with Christian Bale in the lead role. Bale will become Batman for a third time in The Dark Knight Rises, which is currently filming in Britain, and West has reportedly been spotted on the set in Nottingham, England.
Rumours of a cameo appearance from the 82-year-old actor have been fuelled by a report published on Floss magazine's Twitter feed, which reads, "Hollywood big wigs confirmed actor Adam West (Batman on the TV series) will make a cameo on The Dark Knight Rises set to open July 20, 2012".

Movie bosses at Warner Bros. have yet to comment on the report.

A Catwoman short has been confirmed for inclusion in the forthcoming Batman: Year One animated feature DVD.

Via MTV:

Fans planning on picking up a copy of the upcoming "Batman: Year One" DVD who also have a soft spot for Eliza Dushku are in for a treat.

TV Guide has the news that a short film featuring Dushku's voice acting as Catwoman has been added as a DVD extra in the special features. Dushku already lent her voice talents to "Batman: Year One," but the "Catwoman" short centers solely around her femme fatale character.

In the short, she faces off against crime boss Rough Cut, a new character created just for the story that is voiced by "Futurama's" John DiMaggio. The 15-minute-long segment follows the two of them in a "breathless and brutal" chase across Gotham City while searching for a mysterious cargo shipment.

"Batman: Year One" director Lauren Montgomery also helmed the "Catwoman" short, which was directed by comic book and TV writer Paul Dini.

TV Guide caught up with Dushku to ask her about her relationship to the character of Catwoman. "I found the attitude for this character deep down in the Eliza Dushku archive of bad girls," she said with a laugh. "They're in there somehow, somewhere for some reason, and I tap into them when I need them. They're characters with an edge."

"Batman: Year One" goes on sale October 18 across all platforms. The film is based on the Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli comic book arc, and also features the voice talents of "Southland's" Ben McKenzie as Batman, "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston at Commissioner Gordon and "Battlestar Galactica's" Katee Sackoff as Detective Sarah Essen.

A fantastic article was posted today chronicling the history of the Batmobile from its first appearance right up to the current day. Unfortunately, this project had already been tackled (and with far more success and detail) in this image reproduced here and below.

The upcoming multiplatform videogame Batman: Arkham City is hotly anticipated by gamers and comic book fans alike. Featuring free-roaming gameplay and stunning graphics, it is sure to impress. More recently, Batman's sidekick Robin was revealed as additional downloadable content and sporting a unique newly designed costume.

MTV's Multiplayer game site had more details regarding the Boy Wonder and his role in the game.

Robin will start out as a downloadable add-on for those that pre-order through Best Buy,

but will eventually be available to everyone at some as-yet-unannounced date. There's no denying that Robin is a beloved character among Batman fans – hell, a debate even broke out in our comment thread in regards to the infamous Jason Todd – so staying true to his image, while converting him over to the gritty world of "Arkham City," presents a real challenge for the game's artist.

Senior concept artist, Kan Muftic, took some time on the "Arkham City" forums today to explain his thought process on designing Robin. He even answers a question that's been running through my brain as to why the team chose to shave Tim Drake's head; I can't say I was expecting a UFC-inspired explanation.

"We wanted to create a Robin that players would identify as a contemporary character and move away from the traditional 'Boy Wonder' image that most people know," Muftic writes. "Our vision of Robin is the one of a troubled young individual that is calm and introverted at times, but very dangerous and aggressive if provoked. The shaved head is inspired by cage fighters, because we thought that Robin might be doing that in his spare time to keep him on his toes. Still, we kept all the classic trademarks of Robin's appearance, such as the red and yellow colors of his outfit, the cape and the mask."

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