Roughly 16 years after I first watched Batman: The Animated Series and hoped it would continue forever, Batman: Caped Crusader has promised to serve as an exciting modern replacement for my all-time favorite DC show. As is the case for many people, my childhood involved a not insubstantial amount of watching classic cartoons – a road that would, inevitably, lead to perhaps the best animated Batman series of all time.

Over a decade later, and the Batman: Caped Crusader trailer has set the incoming 2024 show up as a promising new version of Batman: The Animated Series – complete with the 90s show’s original head producer, Bruce Timm. While these are certainly big shoes to fill, Caped Crusader seems custom-built to match up to the comparisons, and the expectations that come with them.

Batman: Caped Crusader Is The Modern Batman: The Animated Series I’ve Wanted For Years

Batman: Caped Crusader’s Teases Promise A Very Similar Show Experience

Batman: Caped Crusader obviously has a major Batman: The Animated Series tie in that Bruce Timm is involved with the project, but the parallels go far beyond that already. Not only is some of the eye-catching stylization of the prior show clear in the art for Caped Crusader, but the tone – one of a dark series that still looks to toe the line before being outright bloody and adult – also appears to match its predecessor.

As someone who habitually revisits Batman: The Animated Series and whose only complaint is that there isn’t more episodes, this is essentially a perfect storm for me, and no doubt for many others with fond memories old and new of watching the show. While Caped Crusader does look to be a little more intense in some regards than Batman: The Animated Series – as writer Ed Brubaker has teased it being a more violent and Noir-like series – this arguably only serves as points in its favor to some degree.

The creators involved with The Animated Series have talked at length about the complications that the more intensive censors the show faced presented story issues for them at several points, meaning fewer restrictions in this regard should prevent this issue from repeating itself. As such, not only is Batman: Caped Crusader looking like a modern iteration of Batman: The Animated Series, it’s also looking like one that explores what could have been for the prior show, which is a concept I find hard not to be excited about.

How Batman: Caped Crusader Continues All The Best Parts Of Batman: The Animated Series

Caped Crusader Is Already Set Up To Mirror Batman: The Animated Series’ Strongest Aspects

Batman: The Animated Series was one of the first meaningful ways I got into Batman lore, being closer to Robin’s age than Batman’s around the time I first saw an episode. However, it remains as good even after spending years reading and watching the Dark Knight’s exploits. As such, I’m eternally impressed by the show, as it serves as a truly stellar way for audiences to learn much about the hero and the many characters that surround him for those first voyaging into the franchise, while also being just as engrossing for established fans too.

As such, it’s promising that Batman: Caped Crusader looks set to follow suit. While the core story focuses on the classic tale of the Dark Knight facing Gotham’s villains as its people question his motives and efficacy – conveying a tale as old as time – Caped Crusader also gets as obscure as to include the likes of underrated villain Onomatopoeia, showing its universal appeal. Being able to balance this with a stellar art style and a fresh look at Batman’s rogues gallery is a tall task, but one the show seems set to carry out based on its stylish trailer.

Caped Crusader Also Mirrors Batman: The Animated Series’ Most Major Character Approach

Batman: Caped Crusader Has Already Shown Bi

One of the aspects of the upcoming Batman show that appears to have gotten the most interest is how it’s clearly already altered and adjusted the Batman: Caped Crusader cast in ways that often change them noticably from their conventional depictions. This shares a lot of common ground with Batman: The Animated Series, whose alterations to the likes of Mister Freeze were major and helped show new avenues the character could be taken in from then on.

Caped Crusader‘s Harley Quinn is perhaps the best example of this – shown with a drastically different costume and seemingly different motivations, that appear to be entirely separate to her usual backstory with the Joker, and place her as a psychiatrist for Gotham’s elite. Similarly, Two-Face’s design looks different, and Catwoman’s description depicts her as a “blithe and pampered heiress whose family lost their fortune after her father was imprisoned for embezzlement“. All of this serves to show that Batman: Caped Crusader won’t be resting on its laurels, revitalizing the mythos and cast even as it explores a familiar world.