It's always fascinating to see the types of people who give their cars regular human names and talk about them like they're just regular folks. Well, apparently somebody had a similar idea for the Batman mythos, and apparently, nobody else said "wait, what?" Thanks to a brand new project coming out from the DC Universe, the world will now get to enjoy the answer to the never-asked question "what if Pixar's Cars added Batman?"
Warner Bros. is working on an animated series for young children featuring many of DC Comics' most iconic... vehicles. Naturally, they all talk. While this particular project, titled Batwheels, has been teased for some time, new details are finally coming out, including the official voice of Batman himself. The caped crusader will be played by none other than Ethan Hawke, whose storied film career and dramatic skills will surely be appreciated by the show's entirely preschool audience. Interestingly enough, this will mark Hawke's toeing of the line between DC and Marvel, as he'll also be starring in the latter's upcoming series Moon Knight alongside Oscar Isaac.
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The premise of Batwheels centers on the vehicles themselves, which are all sentient machines created by the Batcomputer. As newly-birthed beings, they all boast the relative life experience of children, creating a narrative that sees them essentially becoming crime-fighting kids that just happen to be cars, motorcycles, planes, and everything in between. While Hawke has been announced as the Dark Knight, it appears that Batman and his regular crew will take an appropriately metaphorical backseat to the vehicles.
Aside from Hawke, Batwheels will also feature other members of the Bat-family like Robin and Batgirl, as well as a number of other original characters. In a refreshing change of pace, Robin will not be the Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, or Jason Todd version. This time, it will be Duke Thomas, a young Black teen who started his crime-fighting career by taking on the Robin mantle (along with hundreds of other civilian teens) to protect Gotham when Batman vanished. He'll be voiced by A.J. Hudson. Meanwhile, the Cassandra Cain iteration of Batgirl will be played by Leah Lewis.
Other notable voices include Jacob Bertrand as Bam the Batmobile, Mick Wingert as Batman's robot repairman (of course), and Kimberly Brooks as the Batcomputer. Many will likely recognize Brooks from her time as Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams in the Mass Effect trilogy. Naturally, each of the vehicles will receive a voice as well, such as Jordan Reed playing Robin's sports car Redbird, Madigan Kacmar as Batgirl's motorcycle Bibi, Noah Bentley as Buff the monster truck, and Lilimar Hernandez voicing the iconic Batwing.
While no release date has been announced as of yet for Batwheels, it's sure to be a unique idea for a children's show. The Batman universe and that of DC in general have always lent themselves well to family entertainment (Zack Snyder's offerings notwithstanding), so it's not entirely surprising to see such a show. Either way, though, it'll be pretty surreal seeing the Batmobile essentially acting like every little kid who plays with their Batman toys out in the sandbox. Do kids still play in sandboxes? Don't answer that.
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