Though San Diego Comic-Con certainly plays host to a ton of huge announcements each year, one of the panels I always look forward to most is that of whichever one unveils the next batch of DC animated movies. As it turns out, last night brought the moment I’ve seemingly waited an eternity for, that being confirmation of a Batman: Hush adaptation.
But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s list off each inclusion from 2019’s slate in the order they’ll be released, shall we?
To the surprise of nobody, Reign of the Supermen will be the first to drop very early on next year. Set to be the direct followup to The Death of Superman, we’ve known this to be on the way for some time, but it’s nice to have reassurance of Steel, Conner Kent and Cyborg Superman putting in appearances. In short, each will try to fill the void left by the deceased Big Blue.
Then, in the springtime, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five will hit shelves, and yes, we are talking about the supervillain team from the future. Nothing has been revealed regarding the plot at the moment, but it’s hard not to hypothesize time travel being involved, or the possible inclusion of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
After that, Batman: Hush will drop in the summertime, the reality of which brings a huge smile to my face. Based on my favorite comic book arc to feature the Dark Knight, it’ll put Gotham’s protector through the wringer by introducing the titular villain to the DC Universe animated line at long last.
From the sound of it, this may be retrofitted into the New 52-inspired continuity we’ve come to know in the past few years, though we can’t complain too much because it’d be quite hard to mimic Jim Lee’s pencils down to the last detail. One would expect for the 12-issue tale to be pared down to the essentials, but knowing how this bad boy is in good hands makes it my most anticipated film to be released in 2019. Period.
Now we just need The Long Halloween and a Batman Beyond revival…
Moving on, it’s worth mentioning that next year will see the number of these direct-to-video movies increase to four, as Wonder Woman: Bloodlines will round out the pack. All that’s really known about this offering is that it’ll be an original story, but it’s probably safe to say it’s sure to be a must-see.
Right now, no concrete release dates have been given for Batman: Hush or any of the others listed above, but we’ll keep you posted should that change.