Spotify, Warner Bros., and DC have announced that May 3rd is the launch date for their psychological thriller podcast / audio series called Batman Unburied, which is taking a very unique and dark approach to the concept of Batman. The press release notes that “Batman Unburied will premiere globally with eight adaptations of the original English-language script, developed for Brazil, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Mexico. Each iteration will feature local original talent and production teams, and the adapted scripts are specifically crafted to reflect the culture and language that remains true to the core story.”
Coming to us from executive producer David S. Goyer, who co-wrote the Dark Knight trilogy, Batman Unburied tells a story in which 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.
The English-language cast includes Winston Duke as Bruce Wayne / Batman; 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; Hasan Minhaj as The Riddler; Jason Isaacs as Bruce’s butler, nurse, and trusted confidant, Alfred Pennyworth; Gina Rodriguez as Barbara Gordon, “the daughter of former police commissioner Jim Gordon and star detective for Gotham PD”; Emmy Raver-Lampman as Kell, “a sultry medical student”; Jessica Marie Garcia as Barbara Gordon’s partner Renee Montoya; Jim Pirri as corrupt cop Arnold Flass; and Sam Witwer as the cannibalistic serial killer called The Harvester.
In other markets, Batman will be voiced by Rocco Pitanga (Brazil), Dali Benssalah (France), Murathan Muslu (Germany), Amit Sadh (India), Ario Bayu (Indonesia), Claudio Santamaria (Italy), Ryohei Otani (Japan), and Alfonso Herrera (Mexico).
Peter Girardi of Warner Bros. Animation had this to say about the project:
David Goyer, this amazing cast and the entire Batman Unburied team have created a Batman experience that stretches the narrative podcast medium to new levels along with your expectations on how immersive and compelling a Batman story can be. I could not have asked for a better way to kick off our creative partnership with Spotify.”
Batman Unburied will be available to listen to through Spotify in less than a month. Will you be listening to it? Let us know by leaving a comment below.