Jeffrey Wright Cast As Batman In New HBO Max Podcast Project

Jeffrey Wright, who will play the role of James Gordon in Matt Reeves' forthcoming The Batman, is set to provide the voice of Batman himself in Batman: The Audio Adventures, a new podcast from HBO Max. The podcast, which hails from veteran Saturday Night Live writer Dennis McNicholas, will be a comedic take on the Dark Knight, and will air on HBO Max in multiple parts sometime in 2021. Batman: The Audio Adventures is presumably not set in the same continuity as The Batman and its planned, Gotham Police Department-centric, spinoff series for HBO Max. It is also not tied to the planned DC podcasts coming from Spotify as part of their overall deal with WarnerMedia.

Batman: The Audio Adventures is not the only "funny" Batman project in recent years -- Batman: The Brave and the Bold just hit HBO Max, in fact -- but the hero is mostly depicted as being a dark, angry, brooding avenger of the night. Blue Ribbon Content, who will produce the series, is also on board for the Spotify projects, including Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer's Batman Unburied.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the news, the cast will include Chris Parnell, Melissa Villaseñor, Seth Meyers, Brent Spiner, John Leguizamo, Ike Barinholtz, Bobby Moynihan, Kenan Thompson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Sudeikis, Alan Tudyk, Heidi Gardner, Brooke Shields, Paul Scheer, Tim Meadows, Fred Armisen, Ray Wise, Ben Rodgers, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Paula Pell, Toby Huss, and McNicholas himself. There is no word yet on what the plot will be, or who those actors are set to voice. Some, like Dawson, Wise, and Tudyk, have previous experience voicing DC characters. Huss, meanwhile, is known for playing one of the screen's all-time great superheroes: Artie, the Strongest Man in the World, from The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

Back in June, Warner Bros. and DC revealed they have signed a multi-year deal with Spotify to develop a slate of premium, original podcasts featuring DC properties. Spotify is committed to an annual slate of new dramatic and comedic podcasts that Warner Bros. will develop and produce. Under the deal, Spotify will have a first look at original, scripted narrative DC podcasts. The initial slate of podcasts will also incorporate non-DC properties from Warner Bros.' library of titles and characters. In addition to producing narratives based on existing characters and established franchises from across Warner Bros. and DC, the companies will also collaborate to create new programming from original intellectual property.