Ask any comic fan who was reading comics in the mid-80s about ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and, more likely than not, you’ll get a description of the book with a reverence that borders on a religious experience.
Okay… so maybe that’s stretching it a bit but when ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ was released from legendary creator Frank Miller it changed the face of comics. It took the fun light-hearted comics of the 80s and heralded an age of dark gritty anti-heroes that still reverberates to present day. Now DC Comics is about to bring the classic tale of a retired Batman who is called out one last time and does battle with the Joker and the government-puppet Superman.
So that they don’t have to trim any of the detail of the original story, DC Animation and Warner Home Video will be releasing ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ on disc in two parts. The first will hit in the fall of 2012 with part two releasing spring of 2013. And courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, we know who’s going to be playing the lead characters.
The biggest piece of casting is the Dark Knight himself. Actor Peter Weller (‘Robocop’) will be voicing the aging Batman/Bruce Wayne. Batman’s sidekick, the female Robin will be voiced by Ariel Winter (‘Modern Family’). Also joining the voice cast are: David Selby (‘Dark Shadows’), Wade Williams (‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’), and Michael McKean.
Aside from that pretty impressive cast, DC has also tapped Bob Goodman (‘Batman: The Animated Series’) to pen the script for both parts of ‘The Dark Knight Returns’.
How do you feel about DC adapting this classic tale? Do you think they’ll have the guts to keep it as gritty as the original comics? What do you think of the voice cast thus far? Let us know in the comments section below!
