Batman To Get A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

As part of DC's ongoing celebration of Batman's 80th anniversary, the Dark Knight will be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While the star will not happen until 2020, it is difficult to think of the move as anything more than an extension of DC's aggressive campaign to keep Batman front and center throughout 2019. In addition to being the 80th anniversary of Batman's first published appearance, this year (and this weekend) marks 30 years since Tim Burton changed comic book movies with Batman, the 1989 blockbuster that set the stage for the superhero revolution that continues to this day and has resulted in seven Batman solo movies so far.

Other honorees on the feature film side include Mahershala Ali, Julia Roberts, Spike Lee, and Octavia Spencer. Marvel's Thor, Chris Hemsworth, will be there, too. There are plenty of TV and music names accounted for in the list of honorees in 2020 as well, with posthumous honors going to Andy Kaufman and Muddy Waters. Candidates are voted in by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who oversee and maintain the Walk fo Fame. Previous geek icons honored with a star include Stan Lee, Mark Hamill, and Lynda Carter. Fans are campaigning to get Carrie Fisher a posthumous honor.

"This year's choices were particularly unique," Variety quotes selection committee chair and Walk of Fame honoree Vin Di Bona as saying. "We were able to recognize the talents of 35 artists who have already built a legacy here in Hollywood. Also, we were able to celebrate many new talented artists who've touched our hearts in film, television, radio and a variety of musical categories."

The Dark Knight's most recent big-screen appearance was in 2017's Justice League, and his next appearance will be in 2021, when Matt Reeves reimagines The Batman to star Robert Pattinson rather than Ben Affleck, whose tenure ended after two films. The Batman will avoid questions about the state of Batman in DC's shared movie universe by exploring a time shortly after Bruce Wayne became Batman, when he was honing his detective skills. The project is reportedly the first in a planned trilogy for Reeves, who previously breathed new life into the Planet of the Apes franchise.