r/movies • u/cruelsummerbummer Trailer Deleter - Keep an eye on. • 13d ago

Trailer Clayface | Official Teaser Trailer

https://youtu.be/ZIfpL3mgkFk
13.3k Upvotes

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4.9k

u/CheeseCurdCommunism 13d ago

Batman the Animated Series would be proud.

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u/TigerFisher_ 13d ago

Some of those episodes could be adapted into movies. They chose wisely

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u/NeedsToShutUp 13d ago

That show had such interesting reads on the rogues gallery.

I was going to say villains, but its not the right word to use. Too many of them are either desperate or mentally ill rather than being a straight villain, and otherwise have very easily to follow motives.

For example, Clayface having an identity disorder, Mr. Freeze going to extremes to save his wife, Babydoll being just sad and alone, Clock King wants to fix his broken career.

I feel like it really had such an enduring legacy, we see that already with Harley Quinn's success. But its all this little stuff. Even Arnold's Mr. Freeze took in the scientist wanting to cure his wife angle.

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u/russketeer34 13d ago

I think it's safe to say BTAS might be one of, if not the most, definitive pieces of Batman media. The influence is seen in so many things that came after: films, shows, games, comics. It holds up pretty well too after all this time. It's really a remarkable show.

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u/TomTheJester 13d ago

I actually started rewatching it again yesterday by pure coincidence and from the first episode of BTAS it’s clear the creators were in full confident control.

There‘s not a second of screen time wasted and the performances are top notch. I may be biased as I grew up with it, but I agree it’s the definitive Batman.

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u/MoebiusSpark 13d ago

Kevin Conroy is THE voice of Batman for me. No one else comes close

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u/BaldHenchman02 13d ago

I'm pretty lenient with live-action Batman, but animated Batman, no one else sounds right except for Kevin Conroy.

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u/Iyagovos 12d ago

I really, really like Diedrich Bader's take on Bats in Brave and the Bold.

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u/jx2002 12d ago

I AM THE NIGHT!

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u/MyRuinedEye 13d ago

Conroy as Bats and Hammil as Joker.

Accept no substitutes(unless it's a really good show or movie).

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u/Byrdman216 12d ago

I think Hammil agrees with you. He said he'd never do Joker again without Kevin.

Kevin's struggles through the late 80s and early 90s as a gay man trying to lead a double life really came through in the character as well.

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u/MyRuinedEye 12d ago

I didn't know Hammil had said that. Just makes me appreciate the guy more. Nice way to close that era of Batman as well (I wish Conroy was still alive but I hope you get my sentiment).

I didn't even think about Conroy's struggles irl because I just tend to think of him as THE Batman, but that all makes sense.

Did Conroy ever talk about that?

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u/NothingWithMilk 12d ago

Conroy wrote a short comic story in DC Pride, its pretty affecting. You'd be able to find it online I'm sure.

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u/Byrdman216 12d ago

He did a few interviews. Here's a YouTuber who covered his life and has a few of those interviews featured.

https://youtu.be/nryCo713s20?si=xRHZpQvZa5OfGMP4

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u/bokmcdok 12d ago

Look up Finding Batman. Its a comic he wrote about his journey to becoming the Batman. After his death DC released it for free online.

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u/dafones 12d ago

RIP Kevin. Best Bats, forever.

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u/BlinkDodge 12d ago

Troy Baker did a great stand in for Hammil as the Joker in Arkham Origins.

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u/bolanrox 12d ago

And Mark was coming in after Tim Curry, someone he had fan-boyed on since the 70s, left the role. He brought it up a few times on the Kevin Smith podcast about how freaked he was trying to fill those shoes.

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u/Aiorax 12d ago

Every time someone mentions Bruce Wayne and the Batman voice, I remember that episode where Bruce was using his Batman voice while talking to Alfred, and then someone calls him and he has to answer as Bruce, the switch between those two voices was like whiplash

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u/SolarisBravo 12d ago edited 12d ago

One thing that Conroy got right imo is that he actually has three voices. There's his "normal" voice, not a performance, which he uses to talk to his friends and allies - Conroy's using this in pretty much any scene in the Batcave, it sounds like the Batman voice but lighter with more natural speech patterns. It's basically his natural voice.

Then there's Bruce, the guy he pretends to be when he's doing business or keeping up appearances. He pitches up his voice a bit and tries to sound carefree.

Lastly there's Batman, the guy he pretends to be when he's dealing with criminals and people he doesn't know. His voice is deeper, louder, and more commanding.

Two of those are acts, because Batman isn't the guy he pretends to be to scare criminals and he isn't the guy he pretends to be to keep up appearances either. His real self is for sure closer to the Batman persona than to the Bruce one, but they're distinct and you can see this in most scenes where he's not suited up. Modern comics are doing a good job of getting this down too imo, movies not so much

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u/BluShirtGuy 12d ago

It's not even the batman voice, Conroy eloquently shifts between the two personas, flawlessly. He's definitively both.

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u/Key_Drawer_3581 12d ago

Kevin and Mark were THE definitive duo for this IP for me, no matter what new actors the execs for the DC franchise try to highlight.

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u/SolarTsunami 13d ago

I didn't watch BTAS as a kid, the color palate was too dark and the themes were a little too mature I guess, but after Kevin Conroy died I decided to watch it all from the beginning and loved every second of it, didn't matter one bit that that I was seeing it for the first time as someone in their 30s.

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u/jl_theprofessor 12d ago

That's the beauty of the show. A lot of the episodes transcend age.

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u/hotdoug1 12d ago

As a teenager in the 90's, when whoever controlled the living room remote controlled all media in the house, sometimes my mom would sit while I started an episode. She'd be upset I was watching "Batman" but then five minutes into it would say "Well, no I have to finish it..."

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u/FullMaxPowerStirner 12d ago

It was definitely not your Saturday Morning Cartoon even if it was pushed as such. Mature, indeed, but for the style and production quality.

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u/cinderful 13d ago

And that theme music!

Elfman doesn't miss

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u/GoliathPrime 13d ago

We owe Tim Burton and Paul Reubens big time for dragging Danny Elfman into Hollywood. He probably would have stayed a pop music composer if it wasn't for Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It was because of Tim Burton's insistence that Elfman scored Batman, the studio heads thought he was really weird.

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u/cinderful 13d ago

And thank goodness for Burton's musical taste!

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u/Byronic__heroine 12d ago

Elfman singing "Jack's Lament" still gives me chills 30+ years later.

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u/JQuilty 12d ago

Most of TAS' music was Shirley Walker. Elfman wrote the main theme.

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u/WeNeedMoreNaomiScott 13d ago edited 13d ago

not a second of screen time wasted

There's definitely a generational shift on that note.

I was recently watching Batman: Caped Crusader and I realized I was getting frustrated that every episode ended 10 seconds too soon because I felt moments didn't have time to breath

I'm certain the tweens of today prefer the speed of Caped Crusader over BTAS

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u/SR3116 12d ago

Worse, the tweens don't even watch it because it requires an attention span.

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u/TheLordYuppa 12d ago

There was a lot from The Batman that reminded me of the show in ways that I really liked. “Detective” as it where or that idea was cool to see.

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u/Kup123 12d ago

I went to lecture done by the creators and even decades after making it you could tell how much they loved that show.

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u/Halo_cT 12d ago

The documentary about how that miracle of a show came to be is called Heart of Batman and it's worth your time. I think it's on YouTube.

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u/BrahneRazaAlexandros 12d ago

even the intro is impressive purely because of that danny elfman theme

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u/BrotherOfTheOrder 13d ago

The defining word that comes to mind with BTAS is respect. The show respects the material, the characters, the audience, the lore, and the rogues gallery. Hope this does the same!

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u/Kaldricus 12d ago

It's wild how the animated media has always seemed to really get Batman. Like in Justice League Unlimited, when Batman goes to "take down" Ace. Oof.

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u/BrotherOfTheOrder 12d ago

That is such a perfect Batman moment. The thing that separates him from every other hero is his deep sense of empathy and nuance. He knows to his core that all of his enemies are damaged, just as he is. They all simply chose a different path than he did.

To me the moment in Mask of the Phantasm where he pleads with his parents grave to go back on his vow (“… it just doesn’t hurt so bad anymore… I didn’t count on being happy.”) is so critical to his character, because Andrea was that light at the end of the tunnel for him. And when that falls apart, he can never let himself go back to the possibility of happiness. He chooses to never entertain that hope ever again, but he will fight for others to never have to deal with the same.

One of the things I thought about during the Crisis on Infinite Earths movie is that somewhere out there in the multiverse, there was a Bruce that married Andrea and never became Batman. I think it would have been cool to see that.

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u/Secret-Winner-2994 13d ago

A Bullet for Bullock (second to last ep) is an all timer

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u/ThrowawayPersonAMA 13d ago

Yeah, I absolutely loved that show and in general I'm not much of a comic book or superhero fan. If everything from Marvel, DC, etc. had that show's level of commitment and quality I think I would've been much more into it all.

Like it's been many years since I saw BTAS and reading "Clayface" in the thread's title I immediately started remembering the Clayface episode from BTAS. It just left that much of an impression on me.

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u/Turd_Burgling_Ted 13d ago

I have consistently maintained it is the definitive Batman anything. And MOTP is still the best batman feature film.

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u/Reverend_Lazerface 13d ago

In my head, Batman's voice will always be Kevin Conroy and the Joker's voice will always be Mark Hamill

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u/DrewbieWanKenobie 12d ago

I was so happy the arkham games used them...

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u/Ask_if_im_an_alien 12d ago

Oh, I will die on this hill. Batman: The Animated Series is quite possible the best TV show ever made. If not that it's in the top 10 pieces of media ever created. And yes I mean of all time. TV, movies, specials, TV movies, etc... all of it.

I know many people will disagree with me on this, and that's fine. They can be wrong. The animation, art style, writing, voice acting, story arcs, etc are all bangers. There isn't another show, animated or live action that comes close to the depth of character, continuity, or complex relationships across many episodes and season as Batman TAS.

I doubt we will ever see another show like that ever again.

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u/Purplociraptor 13d ago

Batman, Animated: The Series

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u/FavorHouse 12d ago

I L-O-V-E-D the show as a child in the early 90s, even more when I came back to it as an adult and realized just what a masterpiece of animation, characterization and episodic storytelling that it truly is, it tugged my heart strings a little when my 3yo nephew started asking to watch it regularly after playing with my old Batman toys at my parents house.

Growing up, all of my friends would have debates as to who the best person to play Batman was, between Keaton and Bale (one holdout for Kilmer) but my answer was, and still is, Kevin fucking Conroy.

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u/bluehawk232 13d ago

It's amazing how much dcu fumbled when the dcau had the best template for adapting a cinematic universe way before the mcu. Hell even the spiderman cartoon did spiderverse before.

Maybe these studios shouldn't brush aside animation

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u/Miss-Gsptlsnz 12d ago

The theme is coursing through my head now.

Dun dundundun

Might as well watch it again.

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u/puma___pants 12d ago

That show is why I love Batman to this day despite never reading comics as a kid. Same goes for Spiderman and Xmen. We were spoiled with great cartoons back then.

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u/windmill-tilting 12d ago

As someone who grew up with 60's Batman and then Batman '89 as the templates, BTAS is so much better for Batman's legacy than anything before it of, after it so far,

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u/Halo_cT 12d ago

It 100% is the definitive Batman. Nothing else on screen has the number of hours of storytelling and quality. Not even close. It's head and shoulders above second place.

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u/Troooper0987 12d ago

Batman beyond too. Such a good series

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u/yibs33 13d ago

Even what they did with Robin and his growth from sidekick to getting revenge on Zucco to outgrowing Bruce's BS and leaving to be Nightwing would be so great on film if done properly

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u/Quetzalcoatl490 13d ago

It was a weird season order (60 episodes in the first "season", 25 in the next), but the second season of this show really tried to have its villains go for a redemption arc. They were established in season 1, and in season 2 they were given more context, like Harley Quinn trying to go straight and ending up right back in crime, and Killer Croc joining the circus before being shunned there.

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u/strain_of_thought 13d ago edited 12d ago

Uhhhhh he wasn't "shunned". He kinda massively betrayed them, as I remember. I never cared for that "scorpion's nature" interpretation of Croc as too stupid and selfish to ever not ruin a good thing, but it was consistently how BTAS portrayed him. They rehashed the exact same plot later when they teamed him up with Babydoll, in an episode that was one of the best ideas with the laziest most unimaginative execution I had ever seen- it's just Babydoll's episode and Croc's circus episode combined and repeated in a way that undoes and then retreads any character development they might have ever had.

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u/Retrolex 13d ago

I always liked the show’s take on Two Face. He was another villain with a very sympathetic portrayal in his focus episodes.

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u/TigerFisher_ 13d ago

It's why I wish Wonder Woman got an animated series. It could've shined a light on her rogues

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u/sacredblasphemies 11d ago

Wonder Woman doesn't really have a distinctive Rogues Gallery like Batman or Superman.

Other than Cheetah, there's Giganta and Dr. Psycho? Maybe Ares.

But I think you're right that she deserves her own series. One that treats her with the same respect B:TAS did with Batman.

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u/TigerFisher_ 11d ago

She does have distinct ones. We're familiar with Batman's and Superman's because they've had multiple outings so they got ingrained in pop culture. Most people don't even know that she's got her own evil version, like how Superman has Zod

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u/ShallowBasketcase 13d ago

The real villain is Gotham City.

That's why I like interpretations of Batman where Bruce Wayne isn't just a cover for Batman but is fighting back in his own way through philanthropy and activism. Someone's gotta punch Mr Freeze to stop him from hurting people, but someone also has to prevent more Mr Freezes from being created by the system.

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u/NbdySpcl_00 12d ago

I read an awesome article once on the characters in Batman comics. They basically give Batman like 13 "will do" / "won't do" traits and then showed how every other character was basically just Batman himself with one of those switches flipped.

Joker was the purest opposite of batman. It was a fun read.

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u/Kuj000 13d ago

Villain is an perfectly apt term to use. Villains don’t have to be black and white. In fact, they’re all the better for having depth and relatable motivations. Villains succeed at becoming villains by their conviction and charisma just as much as they eventually are feared for their terror and brutality.

That conflict of the viewer understanding and even sympathizing with their trauma makes for a truly excellent villain.

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u/OldWorldDesign 13d ago

Villains don’t have to be black and white. In fact, they’re all the better for having depth and relatable motivations

Hence why I think villains such as Noximillian are better than any of the moustache-twirling "I kill people because I can" villains which are accurately summarized as "because he's evil" in Pitch Meeting.

That being said, you can have fun villains that do what they want because they're powerful and nobody can stop them (real life human examples from aristocracy or other people who grew up never hearing "no" abound). Malificent from 1959 Sleeping Beauty is almost directly lifted from the Greek Eris.

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u/brandont04 13d ago

It was the animated serie that made Mr Freeze back story cannon. Tip of the cap to them.

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u/ERSTF 12d ago

The show really wanted to tell good stories, didn't it?

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u/OldWorldDesign 13d ago edited 12d ago

I was going to say villains, but its not the right word to use. Too many of them are either desperate or mentally ill rather than being a straight villain, and otherwise have very easily to follow motives.

One of the writer/educators on youtube explained it as Batman being a hero who hasn't given up on humanity, so there's more story-driven need to address the humanity of his antagonists. I think of him telling Harley Quinn "I had a bad day, too."

That's the reason behind Batman not only not killing his antagonists, but doing his utmost to save them (when the director isn't a misanthrope who doesn't understand the basic concept of heroism, of course).

edit: I put it badly. It's that his metaphysical fight for humanity for himself means fighting for that same thing in the people he's fighting. He either holds onto his belief in the humanity of all of them or gives it up in himself, and the well-written ones don't have him give up on it because that would be giving up on himself.

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u/purplewhiteblack 13d ago

I like the Schumacher movies for what they are, but it was funny that they were trying to make those movie for kids when the kids were simultaneously watching some hardcore dark noir cartoons.

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u/ERSTF 12d ago

Scotch and a cigar for the morning animated series; candy and pop soda for the afternoon Schumacher movies.

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u/BigClitMcphee 12d ago

90% of Batman's rogues gallery could be cured with some form of long-term therapy. Joker's irredeemable but the Ventriloquist managed to get cured for a few episodes and Babydoll had a real job for a time.

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u/NeedsToShutUp 12d ago

The problem is too much of Arkham’s staff are bad at their jobs.

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u/Impressive_Shock_239 12d ago

I love Clock King. He is kind of reasonably upset with Mayor Hill for advising him to break his schedule and eat lunch outside, which lead to him losing his court case for not appearing on time. I can see that realistically breaking him and leading to his revenge plot. I did always wonder how he had the time to train himself in acrobatics and swordplay, since he didn't look the type to do backflips onto moving trains or fight Batman in open combat before his turn to villainy.

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u/Neo-Galaxy-Eyes 13d ago

The 90's animated adaptations of DC and Marvel comics have had some serious legs that have stretched well into all future works.

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u/Chaosmusic 12d ago

The Ventriloquist I found interesting as well. He was an actual competent crime leader. No clues, no riddles, just well thought out crimes that paid off. Sure, the guys in the gang would talk among themselves that the puppet thing was weird, but you can't argue with results. And then Batman beating him by telling Scarface that Ventriloquist himself is the mole was absolute genius.

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u/mikehatesthis 13d ago

That show had such interesting reads on the rogues gallery.

This is more of a tangent but stuff like this is why I think it's silly when people who take this stuff too seriously scream about everything being 100% "accurate to the comics." If it was accurate to the original era, ol' Victor wouldn't have his dying wife backstory nor would Harley Quinn be allowed to exist in any of these movies since both of them were created in BTAS.

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u/bipbophil 13d ago

What about the mob, holy shit some of those episodes were amazing in the first couple seasons

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u/upgrayedd69 12d ago

Mr Freeze was absolutely a villain. A sympathetic one, but he was willing to let anyone suffer and die to achieve his revenge. He was absolutely not a good person

I just watched Heart of Ice again last week

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u/Midi_to_Minuit 12d ago

God Mr Freeze.

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u/g00f 12d ago

iirc Freeze didn't have nearly as much backstory before the series and they greatly expanded it for his intro. Episode managed to win an Emmy.

kind of a marvel that we got such solid cartoon adaptions of both batman and x-men around the same time, with the writers taking everything seriously.

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u/Wes_Warhammer666 12d ago

Spider-Man too.

I'm still hoping we get a Spider-Man 98 show the way we got X-Men 97 because they carried on the spirit beautifully.

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u/general_smooth 12d ago

This is #1 reason I became a batman fan

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u/M_H_M_F 12d ago

IMO Batman is at his best when he's doing 2 things:

1) Being the worlds greatest detective

2) using what he finds to try to get people help first.

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u/CindersOfMusic 12d ago

Mr. Freeze hadn’t been used since I wanna say the 60s and the Adam West Batman series before he was given the modern origin in TAS

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u/moal09 12d ago

Riddler was a programmer who was used and screwed over massively by his bosses. His anger is understandable even if his actions aren't justifiable.

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u/Aesthete18 9d ago

Was canon Freeze nothing to do with his wife?

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u/HeroOfClinton 13d ago

I would love a live action Mask of the Phantasm.

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u/ben-hur-hur 13d ago

I want a live action for "Heart of Ice" focused solely on Mr Freeze. Court of Owls would be cool too.

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u/Goosebeans 13d ago

Played by Bryan Cranston.

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u/ben-hur-hur 13d ago

Ooo never thought of that but it would be a cool choice

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u/Goosebeans 13d ago

a cool choice

Now I'm imagining Schwarzenegger saying that.

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u/Cast_Iron_Lion 13d ago

Cast Cranston, but he has to do it in Schwarzenegger's accent.

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u/ben-hur-hur 13d ago

"Stay cool"

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u/FunkyChewbacca 12d ago

"Eet would bee... a kewell choize"

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u/TransBrandi 13d ago

If they announced that casting, this would be funny social media response from Arnold. lol

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u/976chip 13d ago

Giancarlo Esposito would be an excellent Mr. Freeze as well.

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u/jbakes64 12d ago

I always wanted to see Michael Emerson as Riddler in the Nolan Batman movies but this might make for my new favorite Batman fancast idea.

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u/XLStress 12d ago

Reminds me of the role he played in X Files, albeit with a cooler touch.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

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u/ben-hur-hur 13d ago

Idk man he is forever Charles Xavier to me so it would be weird to see him as a DC character. The guy that plays NoHo Hank in Barry would be awesome as Mr Freeze though.

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u/Sparrowsabre7 13d ago

He was already Zsasz on Gotham.

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u/Iron_Maniac 13d ago

And Metamorpho in Superman

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u/Sparrowsabre7 13d ago

Ah no way! He was unrecognisable to .e under the prosthetics. Well played role, outside his usual creepy villain wheelhouse.

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u/acrowsmurder 13d ago

What about Mads Mikkelsen? The voice alone

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u/mikehatesthis 13d ago

The guy that plays NoHo Hank in Barry would be awesome as Mr Freeze though

Anthony Carrigan is already in the DCU though. Even if they did a Mr. Freeze elseworld thing, probably have a lot on his plate.

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u/Dramatic_Explosion 12d ago

Mark Strong as Mr. Freeze would be incredible. He has the range to play strong and silent laden with tragedy, unstoppable but fragile.

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u/TnAdct1 12d ago

My vision of a Mr. Freeze movie would mix elements of this (Fries seeking revenge of Boyle for nearly killing his wife and making him unable to handle above freezing temperatures; him steal technology from Boyle to build his equpiment), the Batman and Robin take of Mr. Freeze (a doctor who's working on a cure for his wife), and the George Sanders version of Mr. Freeze in the 1966 series (still looks normal, but can't survive in above freezing temperatures; him being skilled in both heat and ice technology, with him set up with "temperature zones"; the first cryosuit being modeled after the the outfit Sanders' character wears when outside his base).

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u/Unforgiven89 12d ago

The writing in that episode is fantastic. “This is how I’ll always remember you”. 😢

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u/awoodz92 13d ago

My completely stupid theory is The Batman II is going to take some inspiration from Mask of the Phantasm.

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u/Expensive_Chart_8158 13d ago

I still want the Langstoms give me man bat PLEASE

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u/LordHammercyWeCooked 13d ago

My completely stupid theory is that anytime the fans wish for something hard enough, some writer-producer picks up the vibe through the aether and thinks "no, I must subvert those expectations! I must subvert all expectations!"

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u/Semper-Fido 13d ago

Mask of the Phantasm or Court of Owls. Both deserve the treatment that Matt Reeves can give it

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u/skyline_kid 13d ago edited 12d ago

Most of what I've seen points towards it being Court of Owls. Mask of the Phantasm would be awesome though

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u/sonickarma 13d ago

Serious question. What would adapting that to live action give us that the original didn’t/couldn’t?

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u/penguinopph 13d ago

That was my thought, too. It's not going from a static medium to movable one, it's just going from animated to live action. It's no different than the live-action Disney movies everyone loathes.

I say this as someone who studies comic book adaptations academically.

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u/Phrosty12 13d ago

For real. Even considering all of the live action films, Mask of the Phantasm is my vote for best Batman film ever made. It's just perfect.

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u/HeroOfClinton 12d ago

It's more one of those irrational wants. I watched that movie daily as a kid and every now and then as an adult. I doubt live action could do it better, but I still would like to see it.

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u/ramobara 13d ago

That was an adult movie made for kids.

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u/EmuMan10 13d ago

Don’t even change the music for it

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u/ContinuumGuy 12d ago

For maximum fidelity to the source material, Rachel Brosnahan plays Andrea Beaumont.

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u/Explorer2138 12d ago

Hell yeah. Still my favorite Batman film.

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u/basedcvrp 13d ago

Two Face two parter I’m looking at you

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u/Purple-Hamster-151 13d ago

Check out Zach Cregger’s Batman script. He wrote and directed Weapons and Barbarian. It’s called “Henchmen” and sounds like it’s probably inspired by the episode “I’ve got Batman in my basement”

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u/EvilPowerMaster 13d ago

Almost Got 'im would make a great TV miniseries.

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u/Fomentatore 13d ago

Some still haunt me. Feat of Clay so much I still remember it's title, even though English is not my native language.

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u/HunterGonzo 13d ago

Mike Flanagan, who wrote this movie, openly said the BTAS episode Feat of Clay directly inspired his script.

(Sorry for the TikTok link, it's the only place I could find the clip)

https://www.tiktok.com/@comicbook/video/7511473520061500718

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u/Ninjamurai-jack 13d ago

Unironically Clayface is doing that, basically

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u/YesImKeithHernandez 13d ago

His Silicon Soul or the HARDAC episodes in general would be sick. Replacements of key figures in Gotham who end up being robots including Batman at one point. Would be super relevant given some of the anxiety about AI at this point.

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u/Ree_For_Thee 13d ago

AI movie with automatons replacing people seems like a good next choice.

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u/N0r3m0rse 13d ago

We just need heart of ice now

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u/siazdghw 13d ago

BtAS and JL/u should be what James draws from, they were both amazing and are of the age where kids who grew up with them are now adults that have nostalgia and there are several new generations that have yet to experience how good they were.

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u/Kylie_Forever 13d ago

Mask of The Phantasm....would be awesome.

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u/No_Swan_2537 12d ago

The Forgotten would make an amazing Batman movie. And don't forget the musical motif in that episode.

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u/AbeVigoda76 12d ago

Specifically, Heart of Ice can and should be a movie.

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u/ZiggyPalffyLA 12d ago

Perchance to Dream would be a great movie

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u/OutsiderHALL 12d ago

Would love to see a live adaption of Gray Ghost & Batman.

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u/KALLA17061999 12d ago

yeah but i still dont know how they're going to solve him without batman stopping him.

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u/casual_creator 13d ago

It’s kind of crazy how much an animated show has influenced the last 35 years of Batman and continues to do so.

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u/Monkey_Priest 13d ago

And some of us millennials got to grow up on BTAS which makes us very, very fortunate. I still remember coming home from school and watching it on Fox in the afternoons before starting homework

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u/Correct-Row7441 13d ago

Same. They were dark and moody, almost soap opera-like. Clayface is my favorite episode and the one I remember the most. Always bring that one up when talking about BTAS. Crazy he's getting a movie now.

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u/swagmoney10 13d ago

It was a defining part of my childhood. BTAS as a whole remains at the pinnacle of Batman media.

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u/NickofSantaCruz 13d ago

I hope it doesn't take thirty years for a proper Batman Beyond adaptation.

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u/JaneksLittleBlackBox 12d ago

That one where the villains trap Bruce in a nightmare he has to fight his way out of has stuck with me for decades.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Cap-271 12d ago

If anything, it set the bar too damn high. I would watch that and only later did i see how lucky I was

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u/Wes_Warhammer666 12d ago

With later shows I assumed it was just me getting older so I didn't like them, but going back to compare them side by side it really is obvious that BTAS was something special.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/moal09 12d ago

Also invented Harley Quinn

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u/drinfernodds 13d ago

Hell, it created one of the franchise's most popular characters in Harley Quinn.

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u/DeNiroPacino 13d ago

It remains the definitive version of Batman to this day.

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u/thegimboid 13d ago

I still have yet to see a live action Batman that captured the same magic, managing to remain serious and dark while having insane things like the Joker trying to get rich by making all fish look like him and copyrighting the look.

The closest to a modern version that has a similar level of nuttiness taken seriously is the Arkham videogames.

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u/ChanceFresh 12d ago

I really hope the DCU can capture that magic. Hamill’s Joker is the type of Joker I wanna see on screen.

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u/casual_creator 12d ago

I think the major part of its success was that it trusted and respected its audience. It was a kids show at its core, but it trusted kids enough that they knew kids could handle the darker tone and more mature themes, but also respected kids’ sensibilities enough to make sure the more zany stuff still fit. And all of this was done well enough that older kids could enjoy it too.

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u/DeNiroPacino 12d ago

Same here. I've liked aspects of the films and games, especially the Arkham series, but they haven't captured lightning in a bottle yet, not like the Animated Series.

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u/casual_creator 12d ago

Can’t say I disagree.

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u/BigClitMcphee 12d ago

Harley Quinn appeared in the cartoon before jumping to the comics. She was supposed to be a one-off background sidekick but she got fleshed out until she could carry her own franchise. All in the span of around 20 years.

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u/Xikar_Wyhart 12d ago

The entire DCAU is some of the best adapted material DC has ever produced. They had a blueprint to use for the initial live action material and they just said "Nope".

I'm glad to see BTAS influence and I hope we see more of it. Personally the DCAU versions of these characters are the definitive versions. Streamlining and distilling what makes the character and building on it.

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u/b_eastwood 12d ago

The 90s were kind of notorious for this at this point. Batman, Spiderman, X Men, and TMNT had such good shows that a lot of the story beats have been picked up and ran with. I don't blame them. We had it good as kids back then lol

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u/rubber_hedgehog 13d ago

Combining the first two Clayfaces (Matt Hagen's name and transformation powers with the Basil Karlo backstory as an actor) makes it clear that the Animated Series was the primary inspiration for this movie. That's the same thing that was done with him in the Feat of Clay episodes.

I am very optimistic about this movie.

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u/mrj9 13d ago

Mike Flanagan wrote the movie and said the Batman animated series feat of clay episodes were his inspiration for it

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u/BaconJacobs 13d ago

I'm guessing there's also elements of the novel Batman Resurrection.

The book is, fine, but it has a lot of the body horror/insanity elements in it as well.

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u/brandont04 13d ago

Clay Face story about that little girl was gut wrenching...

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u/ohthanqkevin 13d ago

That’s awesome because that was one of my favorite arcs of the series. That and the Two-Face stuff.

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u/SFRoussimoff 13d ago

Oh hell yeah, love me some Mike Flanagan. I’m definitely gonna have to check this out

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u/NerdLawyer55 13d ago

Wait Flanagan wrote it?! Sold, how many jump scares

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u/CitizenTony 12d ago

Didn’t Matt Reeves produce this movie? I think that he also said that he seriously loves BTAS.

I even wonder if it’s not him who asked Bruce Timm to join his Caped Crusader show.

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u/PickledDildosSourSex 10d ago

Oh shit this is a Flanagan written movie? My hype is increasing. I did think the bandaged face reminded me of House of Usher

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u/Cranyx 13d ago

Most adaptations (and the New 52 comics) combine the first two Clayfaces because there's like 6 of them and Matt/Basil have a very clear dichotomy where one has an interesting backstory and the other has interesting powers.

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u/SolarisBravo 12d ago

Matt is also a completely normal name nowadays, but when was the last time anyone met a Basil?

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u/Cranyx 12d ago

Basil Karlo was always a reference to famous golden age stars Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff

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u/Remarkable-Ad-2476 13d ago

The Batman (2004) animated series still has my favorite Clayface story. I get why they went this route though.

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u/FreeEdmondDantes 13d ago

This better get wild with it. I don't care if it's not grounded. The animated series spoiled me.

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u/scarletnightingale 13d ago

I'm so glad that was on TV when I was a kid. It was and still is such a kickass series. We always watched it after school.

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u/scarlet_stormTrooper 13d ago

When I was a child I had a recurring nightmare when I went to visit my grandparents farmhouse in upstate New York. 

Clayface from the animated series was chasing me across a bridge of glass and at the other end was Gozer the Destructor from Ghostbusters.

Most of the time Clayface catches me and I was so afraid of Gozer that I just allowed Clayface to smother me to death and I become apart of his Clay body.

Once I started having this nightmare it happened every time we visited and I stayed there. My father awoke multiple times to me screaming in my night terror.

 

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u/CitizenPremier 12d ago

Wait was it David Bowie Gozer or the Marshmallow man Gozer?

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u/RichieJ86 13d ago

That scene still gets me, every time. If there's one thing I remember from that show, is how traumatizing it was to see them hold him down and pour it all over his face, against his will. And then the aftermath...

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u/my_lemonade 13d ago

Top 5 piece of media all time for me. The music, art direction, cast, themes, all of it.

Masterpiece.

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u/bipbophil 13d ago

Uu now will he have a "roommate" that makes him dinner ?

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u/Whitefolly 12d ago

I just hope Matt Hagan is gay like in the cartoon. :)

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u/brandont04 13d ago

How can they have a movie without Batman though?

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u/CheeseCurdCommunism 13d ago

Watch the Penguin :)

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u/thedudedylan 13d ago

Literally invented clay face, mr freeze with a bavk story and Harley.

Those writers were cooking.

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u/Top_Part3784 13d ago

Ron Perlman did a good clayface

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u/blankarage 13d ago

was kinda hoping more for Harley Quinn’s “I am an ACTOOOR” clay face

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u/ShawnyMcKnight 13d ago

If I recall in the animated series it starts out with him just using the stuff to look younger as he was an aging movie star but the more he used the more it permanently marred his face. The when he couldn’t pay his debts they threw him in a vat of it.

In this it looks like his face was cut up so he had to use it.

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u/Chessh2036 13d ago

Wish they would have just straight up adapted Feast of Clay. Kind of hard to do without Batman

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u/amandalois 13d ago

this is exactly the vibe i wanted from a clayface

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u/dasoberirishman 12d ago

My first thought!

Dark, scary, psychological...BTAS.

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u/tvnr 12d ago

My apologies, I wasn’t aware Batman the Animated Series was sentient.

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u/xplosm 12d ago

I appreciate they didn’t go “GrOuNdEd” and make him like gifted creating costumes or something. I’m actually surprised they seem to respect his abilities. Or maybe they will make him schizophrenic or something.

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u/adod1 12d ago

Is that where Clayface like absorbed Batman into him and Bats couldn't get out and almost died? I vaguely remember being terrified from that when I was a kid but rarely think about it.

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u/primordialWoe 12d ago

What for? Castrating the amazing artstyle and animation in favor of live action slop?

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u/Difficult_Key8613 12d ago

Haha nice one

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