Despite a fair amount of beloved DC cartoons being released on Blu-ray, there remain some glaring omissions. Fortunately, Warner Bros. began crossing a few of their most iconic shows off the list last year when Batman: The Animated Series finally got the HD treatment. That said, one would think the likes of Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond won’t be far behind.
Although the Man of Steel’s adventures would be the next logical choice in a chronological sense, it appears as though fans of Terry McGinnis will get their wish granted first. The reason I’m saying that is because a “Batman Beyond 20th Anniversary” panel is being conducted at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, July 18 at 12:15 pm Pacific in the legendary Hall H. On hand will be producers Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano, director James Tucker, writers Bob Goodman and Stan Berkowitz, as well as fan favorite voice actors Kevin Conroy and Will Friedle.
Now, what should really turn heads is the promise of “some exclusive prizes and cool announcements.” Granted, those of us not in attendance won’t score some sweet gift bags, but dollars to donuts one of those announcements is a Blu-ray release scheduled for this fall. Hey, if it happened for Batman: The Animated Series in 2018, then the process is likely to repeat for its spiritual sequel in 2019.
If I were to hazard a guess as to what’ll be part of the experience, then you don’t need to me to tell you that all 52 episodes will be given a thorough polish. But if WB wants to complete the package, then it’d be incumbent upon them to include the Return of the Joker animated movie – and I’m talking about both cuts being remastered. That’s right, this set just wouldn’t be complete without the PG version and the PG-13 Director’s Cut because each have differing footage. Some would argue that Justice League Unlimited‘s “Epilogue” episode should be thrown in for good measure, but I’m not sure that’ll happen. Come to think of it, a new retrospective documentary should also be on the agenda.
Aside from that, it’d be awesome if a new Batman Beyond movie were to be revealed, but that may be asking for too much. And if such a thing were to occur, any DC animated film announcements will likely be made after the Batman: Hush premiere on Friday, July 19th. As always, you’re encouraged to keep watching this space.