'Beware The Batman' CGI Animated Series

The next Batman animated series, debuting in 2013, is titled Beware the Batman. According to Register, the CGI animated series will spotlight a classic-looking Batman teaming up with a gun-toting Alfred Pennyworth and a female ninja sidekick. Beware the Batman is executive-produced by Glen Murakami, and will also explore the mythology’s more obscure villains, such as Professor Pyg, but will also feature mainstays such as The Joker and The Penguin. In the series, Batman will team up with a younger female sidekick named Katana. During the keynote, Register added that Katana will fill the sidekick role, but won't be a replacement for Robin.

Rduce wrote:Of course it has to lean toward the Anime style, I WILL pass…

Apologist Puncher wrote:So Batman gets his, what, 4th series since Superman's last?

thecolorsblend wrote:"But, but, but Superman is IMPOSSIBLE to write, waaaaaaaah, he's not 'complicated' enough, waaaaaaaaaaah, he's not dark enough, waaaaaaaaah!"

Hollywood douchebags, I swear, they'll be the death of me.

According to the World's Finest blog, Anthony Ruivivar will provide the voice of Batman, the main character of Warner Bros. Animation's upcoming CGI-based animated series, Beware the Batman. The actor is perhaps best known for his role in the TV series Third Watch, although he also has had supporting roles in movies such as Tropic Thunder and The Adjustment Bureau. Also included in the cast are Sumalee Montano (Transformers: Prime) as Batman's new crime-fighting sidekick, Katana, and J. B. Blanc (The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Marvel Anime series) as Batman's gun-wielding butler, Alfred. The three will join Kurtwood Smith (RoboCop, Green Lantern: First Flight), who has previously been confirmed as providing the voice of Lt. James Gordon.

Apologist Puncher wrote:Deja Vu all over again.

thecolorsblend wrote:

Apologist Puncher wrote:Deja Vu all over again.

Didn't you just say that?

Warner Bros. tones down 'Batman' TV toon Aurora tragedy prompts changes to cable series

By ANDREW WALLENSTEIN

Heightened sensitivity over violent imagery at Warner Bros. in the wake of the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colo., is extending to another iteration of the "Batman" franchise.

Multiple sources divulged that Warner Bros. Animation ordered a review earlier this week of "Beware the Batman," an animated series the unit is producing for Cartoon Network.

A Warner Bros. spokesman declined comment.

Producers of the series were asked by WB Animation executive VP Sam Register to scrutinize depictions of weapons on the program, which isn't expected to debut on the cable network until next year.

An unspecified number of alterations were made to some designs and situations on the series to minimize the amount of weapon imagery deemed too realistic.

The review process, which isn't expected to be cheap, will be as detailed as changing the shape of gun barrels from round to square for the purpose of rendering the weapons in a more stylized manner reminiscent of sci-fi fare.

Like WB Animation and its production partner on "Beware," DC Entertainment, Cartoon is also owned by Time Warner. The network first announced the series as part of its slate at its March upfront presentation.

Sources added that Register, who is listed as executive producer of the series, did not make the changes at the behest of higher ranking execs at the conglom, but did so proactively on his own.

Warner Bros. has been treading carefully in the days since "The Dark Night Rises" provided unfortunate backdrop to the shooting in Aurora, which claimed 12 lives and injured dozens of others.

WB postponed the release of another of its films, "Gangster Squad," for reshoots in light of a scene depicting a shooting at a movie theater.

Utilizing cutting-edge CGI, "Beware" was intended to offer Batman fans an animated version of the franchise in keeping with the more serious tone of "Dark Knight." The series will bypass some of the more well-known villains depicted in the films for more obscure arch enemies derived from the comics like Anarky, Professor Pig and Mister Toad.

Because the series was produced for Cartoon Network -- whose target would be boys and teens --the content guidelines would already be considerably less graphic than the live-action films.

Further cashing in on the Batman brand, WB will also release an animated feature in the fall adapted from the Frank Miller graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns." Those films tend to be more adult in tone and traditionally carry a PG-13 rating.

Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com