David S. Goyer, who co-wrote every film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman / Dark Knight trilogy, is reinventing the DC Comics hero a bit with Spotify’s upcoming psychological thriller podcast Batman Unburied, which promises to take listeners “on a new journey deep into the mind of Bruce Wayne” and will introduce “a slew of dark twists and turns with a number of classic Batman super-villains”. Now the project has cast one of those classic villains: Hasan Minhaj, comedian and host of the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, has signed on to provide the voice of The Riddler (via The Wrap).
In addition to hosting Patriot Act, Minhaj was a senior correspondent on The Daily Show, has a stand-up special called Homecoming King on Netflix, had roles in the films Rough Night and The Spy Who Dumped Me, and appeared on episodes of The Morning Show, Champions, and Arrested Development.
The Batman Unburied voice cast also includes Lance Reddick and Toks Olagundoye as Thomas and Martha Wayne, John Rhys-Davies as Dr. Hunter, Ashly Burch as Vicki Vale, Bruce’s TV journalist ex-girlfriend, and the previously announced Winston Duke as Bruce Wayne and Jason Isaacs as Bruce’s butler, nurse, and trusted confidant, Alfred Pennyworth.
In Batman Unburied, Bruce Wayne is
a forensic pathologist, working in the bowels of Gotham Hospital and tasked with examining the victims of The Harvester, a gruesome serial killer preying on Gotham’s citizens. Not only will the Super-Hero be forced to face his own mental demons, but he will also have to overcome them in order to save the citizens of Gotham as his alter-ego, Batman.
I’m usually wary of character reinventions, but the story of this one sounds interesting and I like the serial killer angle. I hope this will turn out to be a cool, entertaining project in the end.