‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ was a hit comic series that ran for thirteen issues between 1996 and 1997, spinning out of three Halloween themed specials and laying the ground for a sequel, ‘Dark Victory’ and a spinoff, ‘Catwoman: When In Rome’. ‘The Long Halloween’ is set in Batman’s early years, following on from 1987’s ‘Batman: Year One’, which itself followed on from 1985’s editorial reboot, ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale eloquently created one of the most beloved comics of all time in ‘The Long Halloween’, and details of the two-part animated adaption are finally being revealed.
‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ told the tale of Batman in his early years, essentially overwriting the previously canon ‘Batman: Year Two’, with a Gotham plagued by a serial killer nicknamed ‘Holiday’. Holiday struck a prominent victim once per month, on a special ‘holiday’, and served as a transition from the Gotham of ‘Year One’ to the more modern Gotham readers know today: Less crime bosses and more super villains. The story retells the origin story of Harvey Dent, and was one of the main influences of the entire ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy by Christopher Nolan.
Chris Palmer and Tim Sheridan, director and screenwriter, team up again after the successful adaptation of ‘Man of Tomorrow’. Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau serve as producers, with Butch Lukic supervising producer and Sam Register and Bat-God Michael Uslan executive producing.
The cast is as follows:
- Jensen Ackles: Bruce Wayne/Batman
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A page from ‘Batman: The Long Halloween’, with art by Tim Sale and words by Jeph Loeb. Copyright DC Comics.
Naya Rivera: Selina Kyle
- Josh Duhamel: Harvey Dent
- Billy Burke: James Gordon
- Titus Welliver: Carmine Falcone
- David Dastmalchian: Calendar Man
- Troy Baker: The Joker
- Amy Landecker: Barbara Gordon
- Julie Nathanson: Gilda Dent
- Jack Quaid: Alberto
- Fred Tatasciore: Solomon Grundy
- Alastair Duncan: Alfred
- Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray and Jim Pirri also appear as ‘additional voices’.
Naya Rivera sadly passed away in July last year, at the age of just 33. It is believed Rivera recorded all her lines for both parts of the feature before her untimely passing. The posthumous release of this animated movie marks Rivera’s final role.
‘Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One’ is expected to release direct to DVD, BR and digital formats this year, with the second part early next year. ‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ marks the third time Warner Bros have split an animated movie up into two distinct parts, the others being 1986’s The Dark Knight Returns, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, and ‘The Death of Superman’, based on the event of the same name that shook readers in 1992 and 1993.
‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ hardcover deluxe edition can be preordered here, with a standard paperback edition available now here. No date has been announced for the movie as yet, but Soundsphere Magazine has your back.
Words: Graeme Small
