Without a doubt, one of the things that excites me most when it comes to news trickling out of San Diego Comic-Con happens to be when Warner Bros. Animation announces the following year’s slate of DC animated movies. Thankfully, 2017 looks to be a good year on that front, as it will see the release of Batman and Harley Quinn, among two other unexpected entries.
Since 2014, WB Animation has followed a certain model when it comes to releasing these films: Two set in New 52 continuity – one Justice League, one Batman – as well as one out of continuity, standalone flick. For example, this year saw the releases of Batman: Bad Blood, Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Batman: The Killing Joke. Expect 2017 to somewhat honor this pattern, yet break the cycle in a most refreshing way.
The first animated film to hit shelves next year will be that of the recently rumored Justice League Dark. What separates this from previous entries is that the “Dark” team handles supernatural cases and will feature the likes of John Constantine and Swamp Thing. Hopefully, we will also see favorites such as Zatanna, Madame Xanadu and Deadman. We won’t have to wait long to get some details on the film either, because a first look featurette will be included on the Blu-Ray/DVD release of Batman: The Killing Joke on August 2.
As for the other outing, it will be none other than Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Based on the beloved comic book story arc by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, this was originally supposed to see release in 2008, but never got off the ground as WB had second thoughts about the project. I’m just as surprised as anyone to see it revived, despite the fact that it was teased in the mid-credits scene for Justice League vs. Teen Titans.
The third, which will probably excite people most, is that of the aforementioned Batman and Harley Quinn, an original story from Bruce Timm. No details have been revealed just yet, but my hope is that this film, along with Suicide Squad, finds enough success to convince WB to greenlight a solo Harley animated movie based on the works of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti.
No matter which of these you are most looking forward to, we can probably all agree that 2017 will be a good time to be a DC fan.
