DC Showcase's Batman: Death in the Family (2020)

[Silver Nemesis]

DC Showcase - Batman: Death in the Family will debut on Blu-ray and Digital HD in Fall 2020.

An adaptation of the 1988 comic book storyline of the same name, Death in the Family chronicles the tragic death of second Robin Jason Todd at the hand of the Joker. The film is essentially a prequel to 2010's Batman: Under the Red Hood and will feature several returning voice actors, including Bruce Greenwood as Batman, Vincent Martella as Jason Todd, and John DiMaggio as Joker. The cast also includes Zehra Fazal (Young Justice) as Talia al Ghul and Gary Cole (Veep) as both Two-Face and Commissioner Gordon.

However, Death in the Family isn't a straightforward prequel, but rather an interactive short film with multiple branching story paths (a la Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch). Viewers will be presented with choices at pivotal moments in the story, allowing them to decide whether Jason lives or dies and determining the course of Jason's life. The trailer hints at some major deviations from established continuity, with Jason returning to Gotham as a bandaged assassin and taking up the mantle of Red Robin.

This interactive element is likely a callback to the original comic's infamous fan-voting campaign. DC established a 1-900 number, allowing fans to call and vote on whether they wanted Jason to live or die. The "die" vote narrowly won out, though DC did eventually resurrect the character in 2005's Batman: Under the Hood (the inspiration for the Under the Red Hood movie). DC also called back to that poll following an episode of Titans: Season 2 last year.

Similar to 2010's Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, Batman: Death in the Family will include several other DC animated shorts to make up for its shorter runtime. Also included in this set are the previously released Sgt. Rock, Death, Adam Strange, and The Phantom Stranger short films.

https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-death-in-the-family-trailer

[thecolorsblend]

The trailer hints at some major deviations from established continuity, with Jason returning to Gotham as a bandaged assassin and taking up the mantle of Red Robin.

Nobody could've predicted that.

[The Laughing Fish]

I'm excited to know Bruce Greenwood will play the voice as Batman again, but I'm not sure if an interactive movie is the best way to expand (or manipulate) the "Red Hood" universe. This concept seems more appropriate for an action RPG game rather than a movie. This could either be a very fun experience, or a boring gimmick that loses its novelty.

It's too bad an adaptation of Hush already exists, that storyline would've been perfect as the sequel to Under the Red Hood. I'm glad they appear to recreate animation from Under the Red Hood, it still looks much better than all of the recent DCAMU films.