Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s The LEGO Movie was a surprise critical/commercial hit for Warner Bros. Pictures and WB Animation back in 2014. Aiming to capitalize on the film’s breakout success, WB is moving forward with several new LEGO franchise installments, all of which are also being produced (and, in the case of The LEGO Movie Sequel, co-written) by Lord and Miller. First in line is the LEGO Movie spinoff, The LEGO Batman Movie, featuring the Will Arnett-voiced LEGO-ized version of the Caped Crusader.
WB had previously released a pair of teaser trailers for The LEGO Batman Movie that riff on the eponymous superhero’s personality quirks and pop culture legacy, but without revealing anything about the film’s plot in the process. However, during WB’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2016, a more plot-oriented LEGO Batman Movie theatrical preview was unveiled at last. That LEGO Batman Movie Comic-Con trailer is now online too, for everyone who’s not in Hall H to see.
You can watch the Comic-Con trailer for LEGO Batman Movie above, then read the official synopsis below:
In the irreverent spirit of fun that made “The LEGO® Movie” a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.
The LEGO Batman Movie Comic-Con trailer focuses on what looks to be a very funny relationship between Batman and Robin (Arnett’s Arrested Development costar, Michael Cera) in the film. However, it’s also known that Batman’s relationships with Batgirl (Rosario Dawson) and Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) – the latter of which also appears in the new trailer – will be put under the microscope in this new animated movie too. Meanwhile, The Joker (glimpsed briefly in the Comic-Con preview) is being brought to life by Zach Galifianakis in LEGO-animated form.
Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) wrote The LEGO Batman Movie, with LEGO Movie animation co-director Chris McKay calling the shots. Judging by the Comic-Con trailer, this LEGO spinoff will strive to balance kid-friendly jokes, visual gags and action/comedy with humor geared more towards an adult audience – something The LEGO Movie was quite successful at. Whether or not LEGO Batman Movie will be equally successful (or sophisticated) in that regard, remains to be seen.
NEXT: The LEGO Batman Movie Comic-Con Poster
The LEGO Batman Movie opens in U.S. theaters on February 10th, 2017, followed by Ninjago on September 22nd, 2017 and The LEGO Movie Sequel on February 8th, 2019.
