Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - 10 Ways It Could Save DC's Animated Films

Elseworlds to the rescue!

by Ewan Paterson
Batman Gotham By Gaslight
Warner Bros.

If you can cast your mind back to 2010, you'll remember that DC were unstoppable on the animated scene. Under the Red Hood had just released and, following suit with back-to-back adaptations of Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, it felt like the company could do no wrong. All of these releases were stellar, and, although it would subside eventually, it seemed as though they'd found a routine adapting the classics of DC's library; fans lined up potential features with baited breath.

And then the New 52 happened, and then - on top of that - DC's self-styled Animated Original Movies followed it, with Justice League: War and others following the tone and feel of the comics company's discordant reboot. Things weren't great, and although brilliant projects like the Return of the Caped Crusaders came along, those same, tacky New 52-inspired features continue to litter the company's filmography - most replete with a forced Batman cameo or worse, all kinds of creepy fan service.

A return to proper comic book adaptations looked to be moving ahead with The Killing Joke, but that film - as well intentioned as it was - was... bad. Terrible, even.

Not to lay the entire expectations of this particular DC fanatic on the upcoming Gotham by Gaslight or anything, but last week's sneak peak was certainly impressive. Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola's classic Elseworlds tale has always been a fan favourite comic, and with its genius premise in mind, it's easy to see why DC are pursuing it further.

Done right, It could be just the ticket to take them back to the good ol' days.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.