Batman/TMNT, Wonder Woman '77, & Swamp Thing Animated Movies Being Considered
10/13/2016 01:02 am EDT
When ComicBook.com spoke with Jay Oliva, the director of Justice League Dark, last weekend at New York Comic Con, the filmmaker expressed enthusiasm for a number of potential animated feature films, although he didn't specifically indicate that there were any plans to make any we hadn't already heard announced.
It didn't take long for some new rumors to pop, though; over at We Got This Covered, a source close to the site claims they were part of a survey that indicated there may be some interest from Warner Animation in attempting to put together animated feature films based on Wonder Woman '77, Swamp Thing (as a solo movie rather than part of Justice League Dark), and last year's Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics.
The success of that series led to a Director's Cut of the first issue -- revealing the script, process art and more -- as well as an all-ages follow-up series, Batman/TMNT Adventures. Both series are co-published with IDW Publishing, who currently hold the Ninja Turtles license for comics.
On the one hand, it seems pretty farfetched that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles owner Nickelodeon would be up for a direct-to-DVD movie that would likely require them to cede some control to Warner Bros. Animation. On the other hand, the animation side for Turtles have been pretty open to experimentation over the years, with projects like Turtles Forever, which basically teamed up different versions of the characters throughout the multiverse, including the classic '90s versions and their then-current TV counterparts.
While James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II made a version of the Batman/Ninja Turtles team-up that the Turtles' comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird could smile over, the forthcoming miniseries will track the sillier, more commercially-viable animated versions of the Turtles.
It isn't clear which of those versions the studio might be interested in pursuing -- if indeed they're interested in pursuing anything at all. With a survey as your key piece of evidence, it's possible that one of these items was a control question, or an "if only ever we could..." kind of choice.
Wonder Woman '77 is a bit less surprising: with the character's 75th anniversary being celebrated this year, there's a Wonder Woman '77 comic book which will soon cross over with Batman '66 -- the premise for this week's new DVD release of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders -- and series star Lynda Carter will appear on Supergirl in two weeks as the President of the United States.
Swamp Thing is less surprising, still. The most recognizable character in Justice League Dark (with the possible exception of John Constantine), Swampy has had numerous ongoing series as well as two feature films, a TV series, and an animated series to his name over the years.
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