2024’s upcoming Batman: Caped Crusader looks to be giving DC fans something no Batman movie ever has. The recent trailer for DC’s newest Batman series shows off its expansive cast, including familiar faces like Bruce Wayne, Harley Quinn, and Selina Kyle. These characters have had their fair share of iterations over the years, including in several successful animated Batman shows such as Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Unlimited. But Caped Crusader is going further than usual.

Set in 1940s Gotham, Caped Crusader’s story will follow Bruce in his early days fighting crime as Batman. Though he is fighting for the city’s safety, he will also have to fend off the corrupt Gotham police who believe the mysterious caped individual is up to no good. Showrunner Bruce Timm and executive producers Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams’ interpretation of the classic hero story is already setting itself up to be a grittier, noir take. Batman: Caped Crusader’s trailer already promises to go in a direction that few Batman projects have gone before.

Batman: Caped Crusader Sets Up A Truly Massive Rogues Gallery For The DC Show

Though not every actor’s exact role has been confirmed, Batman: Caped Crusader already boasts a lengthy cast list. Alongside Hamish Linklater as Batman, Christina Ricci as Catwoman, and Jamie Chung as Harley Quinn, at least 15 other actors were confirmed in Prime’s series preview.

Judging from Caped Crusader’s most recent trailer, many of these roles will be of various villains. The Batman franchise has always had a huge Rogues Gallery ranging from costumed villains to mob bosses, but none of the previous DC movies have really made the most of this fact like it seems Caped Crusader will.

Despite the large Batman Rogues Gallery, most Batman projects have only ever featured a handful of villains, and the same names tend to dominate when it comes time to choose the Dark Knight’s next nemesis. The Joker, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Two Face and the Riddler are among the classic Batman villains who have appeared multiple times in DC projects.

In contrast, Batman: Caped Crusader’s trailer already promises a Gotham City absolutely packed with Batman villains on a scale never seen in the movies. Lesser-known villains can be seen in the trailer alongside notorious characters, which promises a considerable and wide-ranging roster of antagonists for the series.

Batman: Caped Crusader’s Rogues Gallery Includes Villains The Movies Have Ignored

Some of the smaller-name villains that appear in the Batman: Caped Crusader trailer include Onomatopoeia, Firefly, and Clayface. Most of these lesser-known villains haven’t been featured in DC’s live-action Batman projects since there’s only a limited amount of time to get certain stories across. With live-action Batman projects, studios usually want to focus on marketable villains that they know audiences already have invested interest in. An animated series is the best medium to get more experimental, especially with the villains that have more elaborate designs.

Mixing smaller-name villains in with the likes of Caped Crusader‘s new take on Harley Quinn and Catwoman shows just how wide the range of the new Rogues Gallery will be. Just because they haven’t gotten a chance to shine in past Batman projects doesn’t mean that Batman’s smaller villains are any less interesting, so a fresh take on an animated series like Caped Crusader is the perfect place to explore these characters. It even makes sense for Batman’s story arc in the series, as the emerging presence of a mysterious hero is bound to draw out villains from all corners of Gotham City.

Batman: Caped Crusader’s Villain Roster Shows Just How Good A Fuller Movie Rogues Gallery Could Be

Even though Harley Quinn and the Joker are usually the villains associated with Batman that garner the most attention, many fans would love to see a more expansive roster of villains featured in future projects. Batman: Caped Crusader’s large villain roster may be the test DC needs to see how well-received the concept is. Batman has had enough origin stories at this point, and a live-action movie focusing on his huge Rogues Gallery could become a team-up film on the scale of Suicide Squad or Justice League.

Batman: Caped Crusader is already promising to take on a concept that the Batman movies never have. Just from the brief trailer alone, a large roster of featured villains have been confirmed to appear. Among the Rogues Gallery are plenty of lesser-known Batman villains who are finally getting their time in the spotlight, which is a concept that past Batman films never got the chance to explore.

And who knows, maybe James Gunn and Andy Muschietti will draw from the same approach when Batman’s next new live-action movie arrives with The Brave & The Bold. With Bruce Wayne’s hero debut in Batman: Caped Crusader earning him allies and enemies, the series looks to finally give Batman’s full Rogues Gallery a logical reason to finally emerge.