Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - 10 Ways It Could Save DC's Animated Films
9. A First Elseworlds Adaptation
Warner Bros.
Despite having been a thing for a while, Gotham by Gaslight will mark the first time an Elseworlds book has gotten the animated treatment. It's a fitting introduction for the book that introduced the line itself back in 1989, and we can only hope it lays a precedent for further adventures out of mainstream DC continuity later down the line.
It makes sense for DC to look elsewhere to mine for animated features, given how quite a few have failed to resonate in quite the way they might've hoped in recent years. In that regard, there are plenty of other stories that this film could open up; Superman Red Son springs to mind, as does Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come.
Regardless, there's something both fresh and instantly familiar regarding the Elseworlds label. The novelty might've worn off in recent years, but these more timeless tales like Gotham by Gaslight always illicit a strong response. In any case, the least we can hope for is that it encourages more Imaginary Stories later down the line, especially in animated form.
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.
