Warner Home Video has just released another of their critically acclaimed DC Comics adaptations, with the latest entry being “Part 2” of their adaptation of Frank Miller’s legendary graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. Featuring an older Batman, the feature also has some new actors playing some of the iconic roles, with Peter Weller reprising his voice job from Part 1.
Cast and crew attended a premiere in Beverly Hills at the Paley Center for Media earlier this week, and KSiteTV was there to do some interviews on the carpet. We’ll be rolling out those interviews in the coming days, but first, here’s what legendary voice director Andrea Romano had to say about the movie’s new recruits and the new takes they are bringing to the film.
For starters, Part 2 of The Dark Knight Returns features the resurfacing of The Joker, played here by Michael Emerson of Person Of Interest and LOST fame. “Michael Emerson is an actor that I’ve admired ever since the first episode of LOST that I saw him in. I was just blown away at this remarkably creepy, wonderful actor,” Romano says. “I was looking for something for him for a long time; and when this piece came along and I knew we wanted to play Joker differently than we had played him before, not as broad, but again, that creepy, smaller, frightening version; but also able to go big, he was perfect.”
A former “human target” landed the role of Superman in this feature, and Romano could not have enough good things to say. “Superman… Mark Valley. I think Mark Valley could probably play the character on camera. He’s got that great voice that’s got strength. He’s got a good, beefy voice, but the whole thing of Superman being a government lackey, and yet still being a sympathetic friend to Batman, requires a good actor, and Mark was really able, I think, to bring a bit of pathos,” she says.
As mentioned before Peter Weller reprises his role as Batman for Part 2, and Romano spoke a bit about this performance that is so different from Kevin Conroy and others who have played the role in the past. “The script commands that you do something different with Batman, because when we meet Batman, he’s really given up. He could care less about anything. He just wants another glass of scotch, and he’s stumbling home to the mansion. And then in this piece, he narrowly comes back in a massive way, to really rally a mob of unruly formerly mutants, now Sons of Batman, into a cohesive, functioning unit, and that’s pretty remarkable. I knew Peter would be able to do it, because he’s such a stunning actor,” she says.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand. Order yours from Amazon.com and help support this site! And, of course, come back soon for more interviews!
