Batman Unburied

Batman Unburied
Season One poster
Presentation
StarringWinston Duke
Colman Domingo
GenreSuperhero
Created byDavid S. Goyer
Written byDavid S. Goyer
VoicesWinston Duke
Hasan Minhaj
Gina Rodriguez
Colman Domingo
LanguageEnglish
Production
Production
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Publication
Original releaseMay 3, 2022 (2022-05-03)
ProviderSpotify
Related
Websiteopen.spotify.com/show/3pUWoZ6fC2qA02D3X0CeMb

Batman Unburied is an American superhero audio drama podcast series created by David S. Goyer featuring the DC Comics hero Batman. It is the first of a series of Spotify-produced scripted podcasts based on DC's characters. The second, Harley Quinn and The Joker: Sound Mind, was released in 2023.

In June 2022, a second season of Batman: Unburied was commissioned,[1] in addition to a spin-off entitled The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, which debuted on October 10, 2023.[2][3] The second season "Fallen City", will release on November 26, 2024.[4]

Cast

Season One

Fallen City

Production

In September 2020, the podcast was announced.[5]

In July 2021, Winston Duke and Jason Isaacs were announced to star as Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth, respectively.[6] Hasan Minhaj's casting was announced in September, along with Lance Reddick, Toks Olagundoye, John Rhys-Davies and Ashly Burch.[7]

By October, the final main cast members had been unveiled: Gina Rodriguez, Sam Witwer, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jessica Marie Garcia and Jim Pirri.[8]

On April 5, 2022, a trailer was revealed, alongside the release date of May 3.[9]

Reception

Writing in The Guardian, Graeme Virtue described Batman Unburied as "Instead of bright fights in tights, this is a slow-burning psychological thriller. ... Heavy on immersive sound design and (initially, at least) light on action, it is an impressively bleak take on a familiar myth, with the added frisson of the occasional F-bomb." Virtue also noted that in May 2022, the podcast displaced The Joe Rogan Experience as the No. 1 show on Spotify's podcast chart.[10] After the debut of the first two episodes on May 3, 2022, the series topped Spotify's charts in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Mexico and India. The same week it was No. 2 in Japan.[11] It remained at the top or near the top of the chart throughout its five-week run.[12]

The Los Angeles Times noted that "Due to the lack of visuals, the immersive sound design shines throughout the series. Batman Unburied is chock-full of authentic soundscapes that sound — in the best way possible — eerie and haunting" and that "It's also far more focused on Batman's mental psyche rather than Batman's physical brutality. It replaces action set pieces with mystery, suspense and horror."[12]

International adaptations

Also on April 5, Spotify announced that in addition to the main U.S. production, the script would be adapted for eight other countries, each with its own localized cast and production crew. They are set to be released on the same date as the original English language version.[9][13][14] In some cases, script details were also adapted for the different language versions, for example, a reference to a Chrisitian parable in English was replaced in the Hindi-language version with a reference to Buddha and Aṅgulimāla.[15]

In these adaptations, the cast of Batman Unburied consists of:

Character Brazil Mexico France Germany India (Hindi) Indonesia Italy Japan
Batman Despertar Batman Desenterrado Batman Autopsie Batman unter Toten बैटमैन: एक चक्रव्यूह
(Batman Ek Chakravyuh)
Batman Bangkit Batman — un'autopsia Batman 葬られた真実
Bruce Wayne Rocco Pitanga Alfonso Herrera Dali Benssalah Murathan Muslu Amit Sadh Ario Bayu Claudio Santamaria Ryohei Ohtani
The Riddler Augusto Madeira Alfonso Borbolla Laurent Stocker Tim Oliver Schultz Sharib Hashmi Alex Abbad Michele Bravi Takanori Iwata
Barbara Gordon Tainá Müller Ana Brenda Contreras Julia Piaton Lorna Ishema Shweta Tripathi Alice Mangione Nakashima Mika
Alfred Pennyworth José Rubens Chachá Carlos Aragón Sam Karmann Christoph Maria Herbst Danish Husain Dario Bressanini
Thomas Wayne Nill Marcondes Hernán Mendoza Thibault de Montalembert Peter Kurth Rajat Kapoor Michele La Ginestra Tsuyoshi Ihara
Harvester Hugo Bonemer Noé Hernández Christophe Montenez Alexander Scheer Vrajesh Hirjee Saverio Raimondo Ayumu Nakajima
Kell Camila Pitanga Zuria Vega Anaïde Rozam Maryam Zaree Anangsha Biswas Aurelie Moeremans Beatrice Bruschi Rena Matsui
Renee Montoya Carol Abras Lucía Uribe Shirine Boutella Nilam Farooq Chakori Dwivedi Fiore Manni
Arnold Flass Guy Lecluyse Frederick Lau Aseem Hattangadi Edoardo Ferrario
Martha Wayne Adriana Lessa Úrsula Pruneda Amira Casar Meral Perin Sarika Maria Grazia Cucinotta Anju Suzuki
Dr. Hunter Marcelo Varzea Gustavo Sánchez Parra André Dussollier Justus von Dohnányi Ashwin Mushran Nicola Pistoia Shinya Kote
Vicki Vale Maria Bopp Ximena Romo Ana Girardot Lavinia Wilson Pooja Gor Michela Giraud


Future

In June 2022, Batman: Unburied was renewed for a second season.[1]Entitled "Fallen City", it will star Colman Domingo as Batman, reprising his role from The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, alongside returning actors Gina Rodriguez and Jason Isaacs. New co-stars include Morena Baccarin as Allie, André Holland as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Cheech Marin as Jim Gordon, Tahar Rahim as The Patriarch and Alan Ruck as Coby Williamson. The season will premiere on November 26, 2024.[16]

Spin-off

A spin-off of Batman: Unburied, entitled The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, premiered on October 10, 2023. Hasan Minhaj reprises his role as the Riddler. The cast also includes Colman Domingo (replacing Winston Duke as Batman), Calum Worthy, Hannah Simone, Peyton Crim, Hugh Scott, Bri Giger, Aflamu Johnson and Amy Argyle. Gina Rodriguez, Jim Pirri, Jason Isaacs, and Ashly Burch all reprise their roles from Batman: Unburied.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "'Batman Unburied' Podcast Renewed for Season 2 at Spotify". Variety. June 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "Stream On 2023: Introducing The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark". Spotify YouTube Channel. March 8, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Colman Domingo to Voice Batman Opposite Hasan Minhaj's Riddler in Spotify Series". The Hollywood Reporter. September 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Colman Domingo Promises "Emotional New Discovery" in 'Batman Unburied' Second Season". The Hollywood Reporter. November 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "'Batman Unburied': David Goyer Creates Podcast For Spotify". Deadline Hollywood. September 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Couch, Aaron (July 27, 2021). "'Batman Unburied': Winston Duke to Voice Star as Bruce Wayne (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. ^ "'Batman Unburied' Enlists Hasan Minhaj as the Riddler (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. September 15, 2021.
  8. ^ White, Peter (October 16, 2021). "Gina Rodriguez To Voice Barbara Gordon In Spotify's DC Podcast Series 'Batman Unburied'". Deadline.
  9. ^ a b "The 'Batman Unburied' Audio Series Is Ready To Take Flight Across the World in Spotify's Largest Simultaneous Launch". Spotify.com. April 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Virtue, Graeme (August 10, 2022). "AirPods, Assemble! How Podcasts Are Shaking Up Superhero Classics". The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Spangler, Todd (May 6, 2022). "'Batman Unburied' Hits No. 1 on Spotify Charts Worldwide, Beating Joe Rogan". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Grady, Kai (May 31, 2022). "How 'Batman Unburied' Reinvented the Dark Knight for a Global Audio Audience". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  13. ^ "大谷亮平、中島美嘉、岩田剛典、松井玲奈らがバットマンほかキャラクター演じる音声コンテンツ『BATMAN 葬られた真実』、Spotifyにて世界独占配信スタート" ["BATMAN: The Buried Truth," an audio content starring Batman and other characters featuring Ryohei Otani, Mika Nakashima, Takanori Iwata, and Rena Matsui, will be exclusively distributed worldwide on Spotify]. Screen Online (in Japanese). May 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "Awi Suryadi to Direct Spotify, Warner Bros., and DC's Indonesian Adaption of the Global 'Batman Unburied' Audio Series". Fremantle. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  15. ^ Tiwari, Aarti (September 10, 2022). हालीवुड और दक्षिण भारतीय फिल्मों को भा रहा है हिंदीभाषियों का बाजार जिससे हिंदी अनुवादकों से लेकर लेखकों की बढ़ रही मांग [Hollywood and South Indian films are attracting the Hindi-speaking market, increasing the demand for Hindi translators and writers]. Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  16. ^ "'Batman Unburied: Fallen City,' Starring Colman Domingo as the Dark Knight, Sets Premiere Date on Spotify". Variety. November 19, 2024.