No superhero draws as much fanfare and attention as The Caped Crusader. While the live-action adaptations of the DC character are wildly popular, some of the most inspired Batman work has come from animation.Bruce Timm, the creator of the belovedBatman: The Animated Series, is returning with another fresh take on the iconic character inBatman: Caped Crusader, which premieres on Prime Video on August 1. Helming the steely voice of Batman isHamish Linklater, with villain roles carried out byJamie ChungandMinnie Driver, playing Harley Quinn and The Penguin, respectively.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Linklater, Chung, and Driver stopped by the Collider media studio to chat withSteven Weintraubabout what fresh takes they’re givingthese iconic characters, transitioning from voice acting, and honoring the fans and legacy of the Batman character. you’re able to watch their full conversation in the video above, or you can transcript below.
Batman: Caped Crusader
After a family tragedy, socialite Bruce Wayne transforms into The Batman, where his crusade for justice spawns unforeseen ramifications.
Read Our ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Review
COLLIDER: I’ve seen the first six episodes.People are gonna really dig this a lot, and I’m looking forward to finishing the rest. What can you tease people about the show and maybe how it’s different or similar toBatman: The Animated Series?
HAMISH LINKLATER: If you lovedBatman: The Animated Series, if it was foundational for you, you won’t be disappointed. You’re gonna get a lot of what nourished you in your formative years, but you’re also gonna get it witha total curveball twist.There are no gadgets—it’s the ’40s! And the freaking talent brought to bear on these iconic characters this time is knee-buckling.
One of the things that’s unique about this version is Batman and Alfred’s relationship. It’s definitely different from what I’ve seen previously. Can you sort of touch on that a little bit?
LINKLATER: Alfred is his guide. They’re working together, at least in my mind. In the best Batman-Alfred relationships, you have this subtext of “this is the man who raised this guy”, for better and for worse.This is the father figure of this masked vigilante.
‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Reimagines the Classic Villains
What can you two tease about your versions of the characters?
JAMIE CHUNG: Bruce Timm decided to flip the script on [Harley’s] different personalities. You were so familiar with Arleen Sorkin’s Harley being really bubbly and funny and unpredictable. We wanted Harleen to have that bubbly personality, to be disarming with her clients, and then to use all the information from the clients that they tell a psychiatrist for evil. It was interesting to play someone so lovable and open and kind, and then using all the information that she got from her clients to be a little bit menacing. Two very different characteristics.
MINNIE DRIVER:The Penguin that Bruce has imagined for me is properly evil.She skims the depths of human depravity in what she does. She’s also a rather larger-than-life kind of burlesque cabaret singer in her spare time, which I think is always good for a villain. Her alter ego is a kind of Mae West-type burlesque singer. It’s strange and beautiful and oddly fitting.
What’s also cool is that you’re the villain in the first episode. You’re starting off the series, which is really cool.
DRIVER: The Penguin is iconic, and I think this about Batman, as well. I am the first female Penguin. The Penguin is an essence in the way that Batman is an essence, in the way Doctor Who is an essence.They constantly regenerate and are voiced and acted by lots of different people.What they’ve done is cast good, strong, interesting actors as the Batman franchise really always seems to do. I hope that that’s what the fans will engage with and love, that the essence of these characters is true, even if I am some mad cabaret-singing evil version of the Penguin.
How the Stars of ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Are Bringing Their Characters to Live Through Voice Acting
I am so curious about what it’s like as an actor when you inhabit iconic roles where many people have played them brilliantly. What is it like the night before you go to the recording booth, thinking, “How am I voicing this?” and finding the character in yourself?
DRIVER: Well, you have four beers, not five.
LINKLATER: [Laughs] Well, I think it’s sleepless when you step into high boots like these ones are.You don’t want to let the fans down. You don’t wanna let the franchise down, but you really don’t wanna let yourself down because you love these characters. It’s such a privilege to play in the big leagues, and when you get a chance to get up to the plate, you don’t wanna be like, “Why weren’t you ready?” You wanna swing.
CHUNG: You wanna be prepared. You wanna come ready to play. Bruce Timm being the original visionary creator behindBatman: The Animated Series, it was nice to have him there to redirect us into this remix, this re-envisioning ofBatman: Cape Crusader.
DRIVER: It’s always fun to do hard stuff. I’ve been doing this for 30 years now. I want a high degree of difficulty. I want to be nervous the night before. I want to worry that it’s going to be good because that’s how you stay interested. You don’t just phone it in. It continues to feed you. I happen to really like the night before because you should be a bit nervous. It’s exciting, and it’s wonderful to be asked to play on the team.
One of the things that I always like to talk about with people who are doing voice characters is recording the efforts. How much did you enjoy those, and how much do you go, “Please, get me out of the studio?!”
DRIVER: Honestly, loathe it. [Mimics efforts] I can’t bear it. I just did it. It’s so annoying.
CHUNG: The hardest one is, “Pretend like you’re falling." [Mimics falling effort]
LINKLATER: I always get told, “You don’t need to act it out so much,” like the punch in the throat because I always do it. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?
DRIVER: You punch yourself in the throat? Ouch! I’m terrible at it. I would rather anybody else do it but me. I just think it’s the hardest thing to do, particularly the screaming.
CHUNG: I do appreciate that they save it until the end so you can really embarrass yourself.
The Surprise of ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Suddenly Changing Streaming Services
Originally, this was going to be on Max. I was nervous I was never going to see this, and then Prime Video saved it. What was it like for you guys when it was like, “Wait, the show’s done? It’s not coming out? What the hell is going on?”
CHUNG: It really put us through a loop. But also, it’s nice not to deal with the business side of things. But I think it found its perfect home. It’s bingeable. It comes out August 1, and you can watch all the episodes.
LINKLATER: It was cool because there was a little while there where I would show up, and I’d be like, “So is anyone showing this?” They were like, “Don’t worry about it. We’re just gonna keep making it.” So we just kept making it. They looked really worried. I will say, the Zoom did not conceal the concern. But they were like, “Let’s just keeping making it!”
This is a two-season show with a multi-episode arc. What can you tease about what’s coming up that you’re allowed to say, or is there an episode that you are especially looking forward to the fans seeing?
LINKLATER: I love their episodes because they’re standing near me. [Laughs] I gotta say about Minnie’s Penguin, I had two verbal responses. When she first came out, I said, “Oh, that’s dope!” Then she does something in it where I say, “No fucking way? Did that just happen?!” So that’s really, really cool.
Then, I just love our therapy scenes together. It was so weird that we weren’t actually in the room doing it, but I felt catharsis regardless while watching it. I had a real breakthrough. Anyway, they’re great. You’re gonna love both of them very much.
