DC FanDome proved to be a monumental success that exceeded the expectations of even a conventional Comic Con. Holding a DC-centered "Comic Con" was an extremely fun way to bring the exciting upcoming projects to light for millions of ecstatic fans. In addition to comics, major video games were revealed and upcoming major theatrical blockbusters were announced. James Gunn's The Suicide Squad was given a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel, the Snyder Cut was given a trailer, and Matt Reeves' The Batman sent more shock waves through the Internet in hype.
But one potentially-great announcement went somewhat under the radar. In an IGN-hosted panel, The Long Halloween was announced to get a two-part animated adaptation. It's one of the most critically-acclaimed Batman comics, so the gold mine of material is there for greatness, but there'll be some hurdles. Here's why we're excited for The Long Halloween and why we're cautious about it.
10 Excited: Adapting (Arguably) The Most Iconic Comic
Getting the obvious out of the way is the fact that The Long Halloween is perhaps the most critically-acclaimed, iconic comic book arc from Batman's extensive and legendary mythos. It's frequently cited as reference material for creating high-quality Batman stories in any medium. The book was the foundation for Christopher Nolan's revered The Dark Knight with the Batman-Gordon-Harvey dynamic and origin for Two-Face, along with tone.
Likewise, it's also evidence of Batman being the World's Greatest Detective and how rich & ripe that aspect of his character is for exploration– even in Hollywood blockbusters. Getting to see this noir mystery-thriller comic adapted in film format could be a feast for Bat-fans.
9 Worried: Unnecessary "Creative Liberties"
Taking some level of creative liberty in recreating/adapting a beloved source material isn't inherently bad. While the DC animated-film adaptations are better off staying within the confines of the comics in terms of narrative, taking some freedom to expand or explore some of the best beats of the books in greater detail can certainly pay off. Lately, however, the adaptations have been completely removing, changing, & inserting details that diminish the plot's quality.
Hush, while well-received by critics, disappointed a good chunk of fans by shifting the focus from the supervillain and making him an alternate-identity of The Riddler instead of Thomas Elliot; the actual Hush. There wasn't need for 'subverting expectations.' Meanwhile, The Killing Joke did Barbara Gordon a disservice with a needless and uncomfortable romantic relationship between her & Bruce/Batman.
8 Excited: A 2-Part Story
Given that one of the bummers of these animated adaptations– even the several great ones– is that they're on the short side, the fact that The Long Halloween is confirmed to be a two-part story (summer/fall 2021) will surely give fans some level of reassurance. Aside from the point that we'll potentially get two good Batman movies instead of one, it's best for the scope of the story.
This arc is a long-running crime mystery that benefits from being spread out over several issues to give the plot room to develop characters and spend time on the details– something crucial to apprehending an elusive serial killer. Hopefully this is a sign The Long Halloween is getting the same high-quality treatment The Dark Knight Returns films did.
7 Worried: Animation
With these movies being smaller, direct-to-video animated projects, they by no means get the same level of attention and resources that a live-action theatrical blockbuster would. Naturally, how smooth or rough the quality of animation comes out to be is a cause for concern.
Anything direct-to-video, DC or not, will carry preconceived notions. Granted, those who've paid attention will know there are plenty of winners in DC's animation (TDKR 1 & 2), but it's a problem The Long Halloween can't afford to have.
6 Excited: (Potentially) Troy Baker & Jensen Ackles
Troy Baker has established himself as a household name as a prominent voice actor starring in many major video games, including Batman: Arkham Origins as Joker and Telltale's Batman games as the titular superhero. Jensen Ackles, meanwhile, was in prominent live-action works such as Supernatural, but also lent his talents excellently as Jason Todd/Red Hood in Batman: Under the Red Hood.
The cast hasn't been confirmed, but considering the January 2019 reports that broke these projects were under development, seeing Baker and Ackles should be a treat. Baker has astounding range, so portraying an early-career Batman could turn out beautifully, while Ackles proved as Jason that he can deliver a powerful, mature voice, which could be executed well in showing Harvey Dent's fall and rebirth as Two-Face.
5 Worried: Art Style
Like with the earlier point on animation, art style is also– and perhaps more so– a concern. Despite working on some fan-favorite source material in the form of the comics, some latter works in DC's animations seem to cheap out on the art style and abandon what made the books look so good.
Hush didn't even attempt to pay tasteful homage to Jim Lee's masterful artwork and Gotham by Gaslight (pictured left) gave a comparatively rudimentary take on character design/art style. The Long Halloween's art by Tim Sale is wonderfully haunting and moodily stylized, so while copying it would be difficult, not even attempting to adapt it like TDKR (pictured right) did brilliantly would be massively disappointing.
4 Excited: Dark Victory
While certainly a long-shot, if the two-part animated take on The Long Halloween proves successful on both ends– critically and commercially– it could set up adaptation of the direct sequel, also by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Dark Victory. Overlooked given the acclaim of TLH, DV proved to still be a great sequel that gave another great detective-thriller narrative for Batman.
Granted, a sequel is unlikely, but, unlike TDKR's sequel, Dark Victory was actually a good comic book sequel to its revered predecessor, so this is more likely (and hopefully also getting two parts).
3 Worried: Tasteless Use Of R-Ratings
Since the only bit of confirmed news to come out of FanDome on The Long Halloween movies is confirmation it exists and the first releases summer 2021 & the second in the fall, the rating is also unknown. Giving R ratings to comic book movies is risky, as it could come off as needlessly gratuitous in terms of violence and the like.
One of the audience complaints for Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is that they used the R largely for the sake of gruesomely/unceremoniously killing off a bunch of its superheroes for pure shock value.
2 Excited: A Great Appetizer For The Batman
As mentioned, Batman fans are feasting with 2020-21 particularly as we have Curse of the White Knight & the ongoing Three Jokers in comics, Batfleck/Keaton's announced return, and now (hopefully) getting great animated The Long Halloween movies next year. But it's no secret that the entrée for 2021 in comic book media is Matt Reeves' The Batman given the name in the title and the reception of the trailer.
Should this upcoming animated project pan out as well as fans hope, these should be a great collective appetizer for summer/fall 2021 before the Robert Pattinson-led blockbuster premieres.
1 Worried: Continuing A Trend Of Botches
Several of the more recent DC animated movies released in the last few years have been generally positively-received from critics, but a noticeable chunk of the fan base seems to have little faith in these projects. Given Hush and The Killing Joke, it makes sense.
Some fans didn't take to the unnecessary narrative changes/twists in Hush, and the reaction to the undeserved & tasteless treatment of Barbara/Batgirl in The Killing Joke was resoundingly negative. Both movies were adaptations of legendary comics, and continuing the trend of botching such works with The Long Halloween would be even crueler for fans.