Okay before you get too excited, no Ethan Hawke is not replacing Ben Affleck or Robert Pattinson as a new live-action Batman. The Sinister star is, however, going to be taking up the mantle of Batman in an all-new animated series that is speeding our way from Warner Bros Animation!
While he recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of the stars of the upcoming Moon Knight series on Disney+, Ethan Hawke decided one universe wasn’t enough for him because he is set to don the proverbial cape and cowl as Batman himself in the new animated series Batwheels! Yes, Batwheels. A show… about The Batmobile. Yes really. Yes we know it was an entire long-running gag in Teen Titans: Go To The Movies (2018). The show is happening, just accept it and let’s dive into the fun details.
While Hawke will be voicing Batman for Batwheels, he surprisingly isn’t actually the star of the show, but rather a side character in a world that focuses on the Bat-Family’s newly sentient vehicles (again, yes really). Before you get too confused, this all-new animated adventure series is geared towards preschoolers, so a show that looks like it is combining aspects of the Batman universe with concepts from Disney and Pixar’s Cars franchise makes sense (just think of the insane amount of merchandise we will be seeing!).
The newly alive vehicles like The Batmobile (also known as Bam in the series) were given sentience by the Bat Computer to assist Batman and his crew with cleaning up the streets of Gotham City. As they were only recently brought to life, our vehicular heroes are given the personalities and intelligence levels of small children (which begs the question, how are they street legal?) with very little real-life experience; meaning the show will focus on their growth as they learn how to fight crime among other things.
Jacob Bertrand, who will be starring in the series as Bam The Batmobile, broke the news about Hawke joining the Bathweels series during a recent virtual event to commemorate the launch of Warner Media Kids & Family’s new preschool programming block Cartoonito. Hawke and Bertrand will be far from alone in Batwheels, with an extensive cast list set to join them including AJ Hudson as Duke Thomas (aka the first Black character to take up the mantle of Robin), Leah Lewis as Cassandra Cain (the second Batgirl, and also the first Asian character to be Batgirl), Jordan Reed as Redbird (Robin’s speedster), Madigan Kacmar as Bibi (Batgirl’s motorcycle), Noah Bentley as Buff (a Batman-themed monster truck), Lilimar as Batwing (the Bat Jet!), and Kimberly D. Brooks as the ever-helpful Bat Computer. We are sure there will also be countless guest stars appearing in the series throughout its run as well, so be sure to stay tuned for more casting announcements!
The new Batwheels animated series is being produced by Warner Bros. Animation with Michael G. Stern and Sam Register executive producing. Currently, there is not yet a premiere date for the series, although it is anticipated that it will begin airing sometime in 2022.
Are you excited to see Ethan Hawke voice Batman? What other fan-favorite Bat-Family characters and vehicles are you hoping to see in the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for more Batwheels updates!