In the annals of DC’s comic book archives, there are few specific stories that would be seen as more of a holy grail than Batman: The Long Halloween. Originally published between 1996-1997, written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale, it’s one of the most famous and beloved Batman stories of all time—and one that contributed quite a lot of ideas to the Christopher Nolan trilogy of Batman movies, particularly Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises. But despite its enduring appeal, The Long Halloween has never had a proper adaptation of its own—until now, apparently.
Comic news site Revenge of the Fans is exclusively reporting what they claim to be a pretty exciting leak: An upcoming, two-part animated adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween. This would presumably be done in a way similar to the direct-to-video, animated release of the two-part adaptation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns in 2012 and 2013. There’s been no confirmation yet on this from DC.
Editor Mario-Francisco Robles claims to have gotten this information from someone within DC, apparently the same person who told him that Kaley Cuoco would be voicing Harley Quinn in her upcoming series on DC Universe. He also came bearing names of voice actors, although the twist is that we don’t know exactly which actors would be portraying which characters. Cited so far: Troy Baker, Jensen Ackles, Naya Rivera, Titus Welliver, David Dastmalchian and more.
If you’ve never read The Long Halloween, now would be the time. The story of the comic takes place early in the career of The Dark Knight—after the growing pains of Frank Miller’s Year One, but before Gotham has become overrun with costumed supervillains. It’s a sprawling gangland story about family and Gotham’s oldest criminal syndicates as they feel the pressure of being replaced by a new generation of superpowered heroes and villains. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Christmas. St. Patrick’s Day. Easter. As the calendar’s days stack up, so do the bodies littered in the streets of Gotham City. A murderer is loose, killing only on holidays. The only man that can stop this fiend? The Dark Knight. In a mystery taking place during Batman’s early days of crime fighting, Batman: The Long Halloween is one of the greatest Dark Knight stories ever told.
Working with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant James Gordon, Batman races against the calendar as he tries to discover who Holiday is before he claims his next victim each month. A mystery that has the reader continually guessing the identity of the killer, this story also ties into the events that transform Harvey Dent into Batman’s deadly enemy, Two-Face.“
There’s a million potential questions here. Would the film attempt to model itself in Sale’s iconic, unusual art style for The Long Halloween? Is there any chance of theatrical release, as with The Killing Joke? WHAT OF JULIAN DAY, THE CALENDAR MAN???
We’ll report back, once more information breaks.