Since the 1960s, when Batman: The Movie was released, only six men have played the Caped Crusader on the big screen: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck. (If you want to include Kevin Conroy and Will Arnett, go ahead, because Animated Series Batman and LEGO Batman are the best.) Even after the divisive Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s still an honor to portray the Dark Knight, and no one’s had a better time putting on the Batsuit than Adam West.
The mayor of Quahog, of course, was the star of ABC’s fantastically campy Batman, but he’s also voiced or appeared as Gotham’s finest in The New Adventures of Batman, something called Tarzan and the Super 7, Legends of the Superheroes, SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, and even The Simpsons (once as Batman, once as himself — but seriously, why doesn’t Batman dance anymore?). He’ll yet again play the World’s Greatest Detective in the upcoming animated movie Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, alongside his former co-stars Burt Ward (Robin, the Boy Wonder) and Julie Newmar (the best Catwoman).
No plot description is available yet, but the trailer below teases appearances from the Riddler, Penguin, and the Joker. Assuming this isn’t the spinoff movie Jared Leto was referring to, maybe Caped Crusaders can get Mark Hamill to voice the Clown Prince of Crime? He’s not doing anything important.
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(Via Entertainment Weekly)
