Batman’s latest heroic exploits will be heard on new podcast comedy-drama from HBO.
Warner Bros. has been putting out a ton of DC content recently, and there are a number of highly anticipated projects coming this year and next. This includes Matt Reeves’ long-awaited movie The Batman (2022), which is still in production . Reeves assembled a terrific cast, including Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Although now the Westworld star has landed another gig playing Bruce Wayne. HBO Max is launching a Batman podcast titled Batman: The Audio Adventures, a comedic take on the property that sees Jeffrey Wright lending his voice as the Caped Crusader.
Dennis McNicholas, a longtime writer on Saturday Night Live, penned and directed the multiepisode series that hails from Warner Bros.’ Blue Ribbon Content division and will hit Warners’ streaming service sometime in 2021.
Audio Adventures is separate from DC’s multiyear deal with Spotify to create podcasts based on its characters. The furthest one along in that endeavor is also Bat-centric: Batman Unburied, which has David Goyer as creator and exec producer. (Blue Ribbon Content is also developing and producing that latter series.)
The Golden Globe winning Wright is experienced in the voice acting world (BoJack Horseman, The Last of Us) and is also voicing the part of the Watcher in Marvel’s upcoming animated series, What If…?
This new direction is a major change in Warner’s long-standing policy of only portraying Batman as dark and serious. Maybe this has something to do with new AT&T management. They are definitely doing a lot to make sure it’s funny.
The cast includes several former and current SNL players, as well as other famous comedians, and several scifi icons. In addition to Wright, the all-star roll call includes Chris Parnell, Tim Meadows, Seth Meyers, Kenan Thompson, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Melissa Villaseñor, Paula Pell, Heidi Gardner, Bobby Moynihan, Pete Schultz, Katie Rich, and McNicholas himself. Genre mainstays Brent Spiner (Star Trek: Picard), John Leguizamo (The Mandalorian), Ike Barinholtz (The Hunt), Rosario Dawson (The Mandalorian), Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien), Brooke Shields (Jane the Virgin), Paul Scheer (Marvel’s 616), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), Ben Rodgers, and Toby Huss (Halloween 2018) are also lending their tones to the podcast. (It’s interesting that Alan Tudyk is a part of the cast, since he currently voices the Joker in the animated Harley Quinn series on HBO Max. A reprise?)
Whom each member of the large cast will portray is being kept safe in the Batvault for now.
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David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.
