Batmanime details

With the insane levels of marketing saturation for THE DARK KNIGHT, another upcoming Batman movie seems to be getting overlooked, namely BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT.

Wizard’s 2008 movie preview has a few details, informing salivating Batfans that the “movie” will actually be a collection of six stories from different writers, directed by Bruce Timm (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES). The new stories, done in anime style by three Japanese studios, will apparently bridge the gap between BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT and explore “different facets of Batman often seen in comics but never really explored in animation and film.” The stories will link together thematically but also be independent, each with a different appearance, particularly in regards to Bruce Wayne and his nocturnal alter ego.

The writers include comic scribes Brian Azzarello and Greg Rucka and BATMAN BEGINS screenwriter David Goyer, and the animation studios (Production I.G., Studio 4C and Madhouse) have been responsible for work like STEAMBOY, GHOST IN THE SHELL and NINJA SCROLL. It’s believed that Christian Bale will provide his voice to the project. The DVD is expected to hit shelves sometime before THE DARK KNIGHT’s July release.