Though Adam West passed away in June, there is still hope for fans of the Batman ’66 universe. As co-star Burt Ward has said that there is a possibility for more. According to Ward, the potential for more animated Batman films in the same timeline depend on the success of Batman vs. Two-Face.
“I don’t know much,” he said in an interview with IGN, “But I do enough that if this movie does well, it won’t be the last.” Of course, this brings up some controversy, as the only way to continue the series would be to recast the iconic role so soon after the death of West.
Released on October 10, the animated film focuses—as the title suggests— on the conflict between Batman and Two Faced, voiced by William Shatner, as the iconic DC villain goes on a crime spree based around the number 2. It is the follow up to Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, which was released on October 11, 2016.
The original Batman TV series ran from 1966-1968, totaling 120 episodes that aired twice a week on ABC. Hugely popular, it was the only other TV series other than Peyton Place to be broadcast twice per week. TV critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz placed the series at number 82 in their book TV (The Book). In their book, they say that “West’s performance, the brilliance of which has required decades to be properly recognized, played as if series creator William Dozier and chief developer Lorenzo Semple, Jr., had taken the establishment’s fantasy of itself and dolled it up in tights and a cape…”
References to the series has been referenced in other pop culture works since its original airing, including Robot Chicken, Fairly Odd Parents, and Young Justice.
