Credit: DC / Warner Bros.It’s fair to say that the world in which Tim Burton’s two Batman films, Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), exist is one of the favorite iterations of Gotham City across all forms of media. Simply put, Burton’s fantastical, quasi-gothic universe is nothing short of genius.
But, if not for DC Comics’ “Batman ’89” series, which follows on from the 1992 sequel and features the likeness of all the actors from Burton’s films, and last year’s DC Universe (DCU) movie The Flash (2023), it would have been impossible to return to the “Burtonverse.”
The good news is that the Burtonverse will continue in a brand-new sequel later this year. The bad news, however, is that Michael Keaton has been officially replaced.
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Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) is getting an official sequel in the form of a brand-new novel titled “Batman: Resurrection,” which takes place directly after The Joker’s death as seen in the 1989 film, which places it before the events of the 1992 sequel, Batman Returns.
Penned by Star Wars author John Jackson Miller, “Batman: Resurrection” picks up after the 1989 film to find “remnants from The Joker’s gang” as they lead “wannabes fascinated by his bizarre mystique on a campaign of arson that threatens the city,” the synopsis reads.
While “survivors of exposure to The Joker’s chemical weapon Smylex continue to crowd Gotham City’s main hospital,” Batman must work in “both the shadows and the light” to solve “the greatest mystery of all”: Could The Joker have somehow survived?”
Related: Michael Keaton’s New ‘Batman’ (1989) Series Explained
Now, John Jackson Miller has shared a teaser about the book’s main villain with Polygon, who have also exclusively debuted the first chapter.
“We do empower him here, but we empower him in a way that I think is consistent with what we saw on screen,” Miller tells Polygon. “In the Burtonverse, The Joker is evil, but everybody else is broken, everybody else has got something really wrong. There’s a tragic undertone to all of these characters’ lives.”
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“There’s even a tragic undertone to The Joker’s life, it’s just, he was a snake to begin with,” Miller continues. “And what happens is, in this particular microcosm, their [the characters’] angst gets played out on this gigantic level in this city. Batman is working his problems out, Catwoman is working her problems out. What we do with Karlo, I think I give him a tragic arc that I think fits in [and] feels right.”
While it remains to be seen whether Jack Nicholson’s The Joker is still alive, “Batman: Resurrection” already features several returning characters, and not just from the original 1989 film but also from the sequel, Batman Returns, with wealthy industrialist Max Shreck (played by Christopher Walken) and Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer) among them.
Also returning to the fold are Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Dent, Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon, Alexander Knox, and Vicki Vale, who were played by Michael Gough, Billy Dee Williams, Pat Hingle, Robert Wuhl, and Kim Basinger, respectively, in the films.
No actors from Tim Burton’s films are expected to reprise their roles for the audiobook version. The full cast is yet to be revealed, however, we know that it will be narrated in third-person by Will Damron, who has voiced over 700 titles across a variety of genres.
The first chapter from “Batman: Resurrection” can be found at the end of Miller’s interview with Polygon.
“Batman: Resurrection” will be released on October 15. It’s now available to pre-order from Amazon, Penguin Random House, and Bookshop.
Will you be picking up a copy of “Batman: Resurrection”? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!