The Dark Knight is about to get Supernatural.
Jensen Ackles, star of the CW’s long-running hit Supernatural, will voice Batman in the upcoming two-part animated The Long Halloween movie. He joins an incredible all-star cast bringing one of the most classic Batman stories to life.
The Long Year
Published in 1996, the Long Halloween was a thirteen-issue maxiseries written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale. It takes place when Bruce Wayne is just starting out as Batman and first clashing with many of his future arch-enemies.
The central plotline is Batman tracking a twisted killer named Holiday who murders people on specific holidays (from Halloween to Memorial Day) with plenty of suspects abounding. Along the way, Batman faces numerous iconic enemies in the Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Poison Ivy.
The series also details how Batman’s staunch ally, District Attorney Harvey Dent, became the twisted Two-Face. Another theme is showing the power of the Gotham City underworld shifting from the traditional crime families like the Falcones to the “freaks” such as Joker.
The series inspired a sequel, Dark Victory, involving a new killer called the Hangman and how Batman took young Dick Grayson as his partner, Robin.
The cast
The voice cast had been mostly assembled, but Ackles as Batman is an intriguing choice. The actor had just wrapped his 15-season stint as Dean Winchester on the CW’s long-running hit Supernatural.
This will be Ackles’ second go-around in the DC Animated Universe. He had voiced Jason Todd, the second Robin, who becomes the murderous Red Hood in 2010’s Batman Under the Red Hood.
Also notable among the cast is Glee star Naya Rivera as Catwoman. The actress tragically passed away in July of 2020 in a drowning accident shortly after completing his voice work for the film, making this her final role.
The rest of the cast includes Josh Duhamel as Harvey Dent, Billy Burke as James Gordon, Titus Welliver as Carmine Falcone, David Dastmalchian as Calendar Man, Troy Baker as Joker, Amy Landecker as Barbara Gordon, Julie Nathanson as Gilda Dent, Jack Quaid as Alberto, Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy and Alastair Duncan as Alfred.
Chris Palmer, known for Superman: Man of Tomorrow, is directing from a script that reteams him with Man of Tomorrow screenwriter Tim Sheridan
The film will be split into two parts although it’s unknown if it only adapts the original comic or works in elements of Dark Victory as well.
The story has long been a favorite of Batman fans for showing a more inexperienced Caped Crusader tackling a dark mystery. When it hits (no doubt in time for its 25th anniversary on Halloween), it should be an adventure worthy of the World’s Greatest Detective.
Batman The Long Halloween Part I will debut later in 2021.