Batwoman

Batwoman would be a 2028 computer-animated science fiction superhero film written and directed by Lauren Montgomery, with Pam Coasts and Allison Abbate producing. A co-production between the Warner Animation Group and DC Entertainment, the film would be an adaptation of the Batwoman character and the Batman Beyond TV series created by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and Alan Burnett. The film would star the voices of Javicia Leslie, Rosario Dawson, Michael Keaton, Meagan Tandy, Cree Summer, Jenny Slate, Christian Bale, and Kevin Conroy. Kathryn Bostic would compose the score.

Development on an animated Batwoman film would begin in early 2025, with Montgomery set to write and direct the project for Warner Animation Group, having previously directed several Batman and Justice League animated direct-to-video films for Warner Bros. Animation, and Coasts set to produce. Abbate would join as a producer in mid-2025. Leslie, Dawson, and Keaton would join the cast in late 2025, with the latter two reprising their roles from previous Batman media as Barbara Gordon and Bruce Wayne, respectively. Tandy and Summer would also join the cast in early 2026, with Slate, Bale, and Conroy joining in mid-2026. Voice recording would begin in late 2026. Animation services would be provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks.

The filmmakers would avoid "putting the Batwoman elements before the Batman Beyond elements or the Batman Beyond elements before the Batwoman elements", instead combining elements from both and other DC properties to create an original story "that talks about passing the torch and legacy and the relations between predescesors and succesors". The filmmakers would also put Batman and Batwoman easter eggs througth the film to "honor the legacies and stories of both characters". The film would be increasingly darker and more violent than previous Warner Animation Group films, as well as WGA's first film to feature promenient LGBTQ+ characters.

Batwoman would be released on December 22, 2028, and would become a critical and commercial success. Critics would praise the film for its handing of both source materials, direction, writing, themes, vocal performances, animation, action sequences, score, and visual effects. The film would earn 1.2 billion dollars at the worldwide box office over a budget of 99 million dollars, as well as four Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Visual Effects.

Synopsis
In 2028, Bruce Wayne made the hard decision of finally hanging the cape and let Batman die after a confrontation with the Joker made it clear that it was dangerous for his health to do so, and, having lost everything that was dear to him througth the years. including his partners-in-crimefighting and his surrogate father Alfred, becomes a recluse. 20 years later, Gotham, now know as "Neo Gotham City", managed to prospere without Batman, thanks to the efforts of police commisioner Barbara Gordon. However, that dosen't mean crime is gone. A gang known as the Jokerz roams througth the city, sembring chaos in the memory of their namesake. During one of their attacks, they end up causing a shooting that takes the lives of the parents of Katherine Kane. Feeling without a path in life, Kane begins a carefree lifestyle until she finds the Jokerz again, causing her to chase them in order to get revenge, leading to a fight in front of Wayne Manor. After overpowering them with the help of an older Wayne. Upon entering the manor and figuring out Wayne's former life, Kane asks for help in taking down the Jokerz, and Wayne eventually agrees to help her by turning her into Neo-Gotham's new vigilante, Batwoman. However, as she uncovers a city-wide conspiracy involving the Jokerz, it soon becomes clear to her that Wayne is trying to turn her into a Batman copy, and that she will have to forge her own path to save the city.

Voice cast

 * Javicia Leslie as Katherine Kayne / Batwoman, a young girl who becomes Bruce Wayne's protege and succesor after figuring out his secret identity, becoming Batwoman. Leslie would say that "Kane at first looks like a wild card, but that's because she feels she has no path in life because she thinks nobody can show her, which is why she jumps at the chance when she realizes she can be the next hero of Neo-Gotham. But in time she finally discovers that she is the one who shows her own path in life". Leslie previously played another incarnation of Batwoman, named Ryan Wilder, in the 2020-21 TV series of same name.
 * Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon, Neo-Gotham's police commisioner, who initially butts heads with Batwoman due to her association with Wayne, with whom she previously collaborated with as Batgirl. Dawson would train with older voice actresses to help make her voice sound older in order to play the character. According to producer Pam Coasts, the character's age would be determined after figuring out what would be the right age for Dawson to sound like. Dawson would state that the reason she struggles to accept Batwoman is because "she seems deadset in becoming like Wayne, which worries her because she has bad memories of him", and would describe her as "Batwoman's real mentor who helps her find her path in life, while also having to accept that sucessors aren't like their predecessors". The implications of a relationship between Gordon and Wayne from Batman Beyond would be removed in the film, with Dawson sayibg that the writers aimed to "make clear that everything was 100% professional about them, from their relationship to their troubles". Dawson previously voiced another version of the character in The Lego Batman Movie (2017).
 * Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman, an reclusive millionare who used to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman, before retiring due to his age. Writer/director Lauren Montgomery would describe Wayne as "being in a state of grief. He's griving due to what in essence in Batman's death. That's why he kept fighting at first, because he was in denial, until it became clear to him he had to let Batman die. And is this grief precisely what causes him to be a rather bad mentor". She would also say that Wayne's arc in the film is "figuring out who is Bruce Wayne". Keaton previously played the character in the live-action films Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), and The Flash (2022).
 * Meagan Tandy as Renee Montoya, a young girl and Kayne's ex-girlfriend, who broke-up with her due to her carefree lifestyle. Tandy would say that "if Gordon is Batwoman's right mentor, then Montoya is her conscience. That little voice who only wants the best for her but is never listened", and would describe her arc as "one of forgiveness". According to Montgomery, the two would be friends at the end of the film instead of re-starting their relationship because she felt it was "a more realistic approach to former girlfriends recoinciling", an approach that would be inspired by Sony Pictures' Venom. Tandy previously played Sophia Moore in Batwoman.
 * Cree Summer as Alexis Kaye / Punchline, the last sideckick of the Joker before his death, who forms the Jokerz and secretly takes over Wayne Enterprises as part of a plan to destroy Gotham City. Summer would say that "she's a girl who at first appears to use her reputation for her own advantage, but actually has the same vision about the purpose of chaos than the Joker. But at the same time, she view her time with the Joker as merely a foundation for her path". Summer previously voiced Maxine Gibson in Batman Beyond.
 * Jenny Slate as P-Girl, the second-in-command of the Jokerz and Punchline's sideckick. Slate would describe her as "Punchline's only friend in the world". The character would be gender-bend version of J-Man from Batman Beyond. Slate previously voiced Harley Quinn in The Lego Batman Movie.
 * Christian Bale as Bonk, a member of the Jokerz and a thug with a short temper who is annoyed over having to steal "geek stuff". Bale previously played Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy.
 * Will Arnett as Kevin, Gordon's second-in-command in Neo-Gotham's police department. Arnett previously voiced Batman in The Lego Movie franchise.

Additionally, Mark Hamill would reprise his role as the Joker, Batman's nemesis and Punchline's mentor, at the start of the film. Recurrent Batman voice actor Kevin Coroy would make a cameo at the start of the film as a news reporter.

Music
Kathryn Bostic would compose the score for the film, making her the first female African-American composer to score a Batman film. Bostic would aim for a score that "had that noir and tragic Batman feel but was also more futuristic than anything anybody has ever heard in a Batman movie". Bostic would compose a theme for Batwoman that was "heroic, but also tragic and shifting in style" to reflect the character's search for a path in life. Bostic would use the Batman (1989) theme composed by Danny Elfman for Bruce Wayne's theme, as an homage to the Keaton-led Batman films. Bostic would create a "strict and authorative, but also wise" theme for Barbara Gordon, and a theme for Renee Montoya with a melody that was "also wise, but at the same time a bit resentful and heartbroken". Bostic would create a "simply chaothic" theme for Punchline, and a more circus-like score for the Jokerz.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, Batwoman would have an approval rating of 99%, with an average score of 9.9/10, based on 345 reviews. The website's critical consensus would read, "Surprisingly violent for an animated film, Batwoman is an action-filled, wonderfully animated, and perfectly acted story that feels truly something on its own while still keeping what made Batman films memorable: A dark tone, character development, and a lot of emotional depth." On Metacritic, the film would have a weighted rating of 98 out of 100, based on 54 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Trivia

 * Batwoman and Punchline's final battle would be made using moption-capture. According to writer/director Lauren Montgomery, she would be inspired by the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "The Phantom Apprentice", which similarly used motion-capture for its climatic battle between Ahsoka Tanbo and Darth Maul.
 * This would mark the first time a Warner Animation Group film has used motion-capture.
 * The film would mark the first time a Warner Animation Group film was helmed by a female director.
 * The film would also mark the second time a Warner Animation Group film was directed by a Warner Bros. Animation director, after Scoob! (2020).
 * Among the Batman suits seen at the start of the film would be the suits used in Tim Burton's Batman films, The Dark Knight's suit, the suit worn by Robert Pattison's version in The Batman (2021), and the suit from the DC Animated Universe.
 * At the start of the film, Batman would put the Batwing in front of the moon, similarly to the film Batman (1989).
 * Kevin's name would be a nod to Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, who makes a cameo in the film.
 * This would be the third film to be collaboration between Warner Animation Group and DC Entertainment, after The Lego Batman Movie and DC Super Pets (2022).