After the runaway success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros knew almost immediately that they wanted to delve deeper into the world of everyone's favorite building block set. Using Batman as a gateway to the world of Lego certainly helps, and with The Lego Batman Movie coming to theaters next year, we're about to get our first look at what sounds like the most emotional Batman story yet.
The first images, as well as the promise of the first trailer to The Lego Batman Movie dropping tomorrow, both hit USA Today, and the details we've heard are extremely promising. Judging by the clues given by director Chris McKay, Will Arnett's Batman will be just as rich and dependent on his butler Alfred, played this time by the always welcome Ralph Fiennes. But some changes are going to be made to Bruce Wayne's lifestyle, as he's introduced to both Robin and Batgirl, played by Michael Cera and Rosario Dawson, respectively. McKay basically summed up the approach to the film with the following summary:
Batman is an island onto himself, the only thing he doesn’t have is relationships. We're making About a Boy as directed by (action director) Michael Mann.
With these first details on The Lego Batman Movie, we're already starting to see a clear picture of where the latest animated adaptation of the Caped Crusader is going. With his less than stellar history of relationships following him into his second Lego incarnation, it looks like the action that we've come to identify with Batman's vigilante lifestyle is going to butt heads with the responsibilities of being a mentor and guardian to Robin and Batgirl. Though going by what Chris McKay said about the mixture of influences that The Lego Batman Movie will be calling upon, it seems like the physical punches are going to be equally matched by the emotional ones that the film will deal.
Lest we forget that every Lego movie has a key ingredient that will indeed be present in this latest venture into the wonderful shared universe of Lego, and that's laughter. If you've cast Zack Galifinakis as your Joker, much like The Lego Batman Movie has, then you're definitely not looking to scare your audience, so much as entertain them. Not to mention, the Lego brand of video games have always taken properties with a bit of a dark streak, such as Jurassic World or the Star Wars saga, and turned them into really funny experiences that pay homage to the source material. Seeing as that's exactly what we got out of Will Arnett's previous performance as Batman, we're expecting nothing short of hysterical when it comes to this brand new adventure.
With a little under a year until The Lego Batman Movie swings into theaters, fans are going to get their first fix of the building block version of Batman when the trailer hits tomorrow morning. Though if you're fine with enjoying a more live-action version of Gotham's favorite son, then you'll obviously have fun with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which opens with shows as early as 6 PM on Thursday night.
