“Batman: The Long Halloween Pt2” at San Diego Comic-Con 2021!

On Friday, July 23, Comic-Con@Home treated fans to a conversation with the writer and cast from the movie, Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2! Of course this was a huge thrill for Batman fans, but Supernatural fans were overjoyed to hear Jensen Ackles gush about his ultimate dream of playing The Bat! Voicing the part of Batman and Bruce Wayne, Jensen revealed that he recorded his parts in 2018 and has had to wait 3 years for fans to see the finished product!

San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC was conducted virtually over 5-days due to the on-going pandemic) is noted for sharing exclusive releases, sneak-peek trailers and surprise announcements from the most popular pop culture offerings. The Long Halloween, Part 2 panel was timed to build excitement for the animated movie’s July 27 release. 

 

The movie’s cast and a synopsis of its climactic conclusion were shared in one of the longest descriptions ever of an SDCC panel! 

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, DC, and Warner Bros. Animation continue their traditional DC Universe Movies appearance at Comic-Con with a star-studded panel discussing the most anticipated animated Super Hero release of the year–Batman: the Long Halloween! Inspired by the iconic mid-1990s DC story from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two completes the two-film journey as the Holiday Killer is still at large and, with Bruce Wayne under the spell of the venomous Poison Ivy, Batman is nowhere to be found. Liberated by an unlikely ally, Bruce quickly uncovers the real culprit: Poison Ivy’s employer Carmine Falcone. The Roman, his ranks decimated by Holiday and his business spinning out of control, has been forced to bring on less desirable partners – Gotham City’s rogues’ gallery. In the meantime, Harvey Dent is confronting battles on two fronts: attempting to end the mob war while also dealing with a strained marriage. And, after an attack that leaves Harvey hideously disfigured, the District Attorney unleashes the duality of his psyche that he’s strived his entire life to suppress. Now, as Two-Face, Dent decides to take the law into his own hands and deliver judgment to those who’ve wronged him, his family, and all of Gotham. Ultimately, the Dark Knight must put together the tragic pieces that converged to create Two-Face, the Holiday Killer, Batman, and Gotham City itself.

Watch the fun as panelists discuss the thrilling conclusion to this epic tale, including Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, Batman: Under the Red Hood) as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Katee Sackhoff (The Mandalorian, Battlestar Galactica, Batman: Year One) as Poison Ivy, Julie Nathanson (Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay) as Gilda Dent, Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Batman: Arkham Knight) as The Joker and screenwriter Tim Sheridan (Reign of the Supermen, Superman: Man of Tomorrow). actress/host Tiffany Smith (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, DC Daily) moderates the festivities. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the feature-length animated film–which will be accompanied by the latest DC Showcase animated short, Blue Beetle –arrives July 27, 2021, on Digital and August 10, 2021, on Blu-ray. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two is rated R for some violence and bloody images.

In their approximately 50 minute discussion, the cast gushed over each other’s performances. 

One of the highlights for the SPNFamily was when writer Tim Sheridan confessed “I’ve been waiting for Jensen Ackles to be Batman for SO long… I’m thrilled we were able to get him!”

Troy Baker was the most vocal about the brilliance of Jensen’s performance: “Jensen Ackles stands shoulder to shoulder with all the greats who have played Batman before!”

Jensen’s joy at being able to act out a pop culture role of a lifetime was evident throughout the panel.

In his opening comment, he mentioning that he splurged on a Batman watch for himself! 

In his more serious moments, Jensen explained that, rather than be intimidated by the legacy of the Batman legend he was inheriting, he “tried to find Batman on my own, in my own way.”

He also noted that his first line of dialog in the movie is from Bruce Wayne, not Batman. Jensen said that helped him find the characters. 

Regarding Bruce’s relationships with the other characters, Jensen said that The Long Halloween is early enough in Batman’s/Bruce’s history that Bruce still has some innocence in him. 

This high energy panel reflected the fun the cast had making this movie. 

Enjoy the full hour of laughter and insights, courtesy of Comic-Con International! 

If you want to binge watch Parts 1 and 2 together, check out Nate’s Review of Batman: The Long Halloween Part 1 and Part 2! 

Now enjoy the other Supernatural adjacent panels! All are visible in WFB’s Updated Guide, “Finding SPNFamily at SDCC 2021!”

The full schedule and links to the YouTube channel at the time of each panel’s broadcast are listed under “Program Schedule” or Comic-Con@Home’s Programming Page.  Nightsky will be attending the panels listed above (and many, many more), so watch for WFB’s continuing coverage!