Though Christopher Nolan said he won’t return to direct another superhero movie, making a Batman movie has to be one of the most surreal experiences of a director’s life. But a LEGO Batman movie? That sounds like way more fun — and apparently it is! The LEGO Movie co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and the LEGO Batman spin-off director Chris McKay, hit up the Annie Awards and revealed some making-of details that would make any Batman fan drool with envy.
When you’re making a LEGO Batman movie, what’s the best thing you get to do? According to Lord, who was quoted by The Hollywood Reporter at the Annies, he said he gets to try on all the Batman suits, noting that he’s particularly interested in the Adam West classic and George Clooney’s armor. It’s hard to tell if this funny guy is being all that serious or is just trying to be playful. After all, this seems too good to be true. But even if it’s not, McKay dropped a tidbit that’s almost as good and still pretty awesome.
We looked at Batmobiles this morning. We went to Warner Bros. and opened up all the Batmobiles; we took photos of the interiors and the exteriors, as well as of the costumes and artwork. It was amazing. It was the best trip.
As Lord and Miller revealed earlier, the plan is to honor all eras of the cinematic Batman in The LEGO Batman Movie as they possibly can. And there have been a lot, from Christian Bale’s dark and gritty Caped Crusader to Michael Keaton’s "let’s get nuts" Dark Knight to the camp of West. As such, all gents involved in making this project a reality needed to take an up-close look at all the various iterations of the Batmobiles…you know, for research purposes.
It’s still unclear whether any of the actors who’ve played Batman in the past — Keaton, West, Bale, Clooney, Val Kilmer or even the recently minted Ben Affleck — will voice characters in this LEGO spin-off. But it does seem like a strong possibility, considering how many celebrity voice cameos we heard in The LEGO Movie, including Channing Tatum as Superman, Jonah Hill as Green Lantern and Avengers star Cobie Smulders as Wonder Woman. We at least have Will Arnett returning as the hilariously dark and brooding Bats, though.
The LEGO Batman Movie is giving Arnett his own superhero mini-flick, and it will attempt to answer an important question: Can Batman be happy? It’s a valid one, considering how this man is still royally messed up from witnessing the death of his parents at such a young age. Though, we’re looking forward to seeing a more comedic spin on the Batman story, in light of all the gritty takes we’ve seen recently.
