Two-Part Batman: The Long Halloween Animated Movie Confirmed

DC FanDome might be over, but the event will be talked about for weeks to come. Fans of DC Comics got major reveals like the first look at James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and a full-blown trailer for The Batman from Matt Reeves. Now, another tidbit has surfaced about an animated feature film that's sure to excite longtime fans of the Caped Crusader.

Announced by Matt Bomer during IGN's Superman: Man of Tomorrow panel, Jeph Loeb and Time Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween is being adapted into a two-part animated feature. Though no exact dates are available, the first part of the iconic Batman tale is supposed to hit next summer while the finale will drop late 2021.

The Long Halloween was originally released by DC in 1996 and ran for 13 issues, telling a story during Bruce Wayne's earliest years as Batman, as the vigilante works alongside Harvey Dent long before he's transformed into the iconic Batvillain Two-Face. The story serves as a direct sequel to Frank Miller's legendary Batman: Year One story.

With Reeves' upcoming live-action feature also set during Batman's formative years, many have speculated the flick could also pull inspiration from comic stories like Year One and The Long Halloween.

"It's very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale," Reeves said of his take on the Caped Crusader. "It's told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it's going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It's more Batman in his detective mode than we've seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and that's not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I'd love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it's going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation."

Prior to that, Reeves made it a point to reveal his movie was not connected to the continuity shared by the large DC Extended Universe, allowing the filmmaker some freedom in his storytelling.

"Right now, I'm involved in The Batman," Reeves said. "What it will be called ultimately, I don't know. Aquaman is going to be very different from the Todd Phillips Joker movie, and that's going to be different from Shazam and Harley Quinn. Warners believes they don't have to try to develop a giant slate that has to have all the plans for how it's going to connect. What they need to try and do is make good movies with these characters."