March 21, 2021
Kaotica Studios filmmaker Johnny K. (director of the award-winning The Killer of Grassy Ridge and the forthcoming Red Eagle-1) has teased a possible upcoming Batman fan-film project set in the “Burtonverse.” The first images have been released from a recent photoshoot with costumer William Jay (@william_jay87), and the Batmobile wheels may be in motion toward a non-profit fan film.
“Re-visiting the Burtonverse would be a blast,” Johnny said. “I’d love to experiment with miniatures, matte paintings, and try to recreate some of the pre-CG effects used in the Tim Burton movies.”
“As a kid, I worshipped Anton Furst’s production design and Tim Burton’s vision for Batman (1989). I had all the magazines, the behind-the-scenes books, and I wore out the Elfman score on cassette. Recreating a small piece of that world on a micro-budget using practical effects would be so much fun, and has been a dream of mine since I was a kid playing with my Batman toys.”
“It’d be a blast to go back and spend some time in that world. It’s still very early, but I have a script I really like (set a week before Batman ’89). Our Batman is on board, as well as our fight/stunt coordinator, and we’re currently snooping around for some seedy Gotham-esque locations.”
“I’d never had any interest in making a fan film with someone else’s property,” Johnny said, “but after our photoshoot and seeing some of the test footage, a Burtonverse Batman project would be just too much fun to pass up.”
For costumer William Jay, Batman is his favorite hero, so donning the cowl was an easy decision.
“Batman was something I could share with my dad,” William said. “He had been a fan of the 1966 Adam West interpretation, which he loved watching with me and my brother in syndicated reruns. I was also lucky enough to have been born at the right time to appreciate the brilliance that was Batman: The Animated Series.”
“Batman Returns (and later Batman 1989, once I begged for it as a birthday gift) was played countless times on my VCR. There was something about seeing the character treated with such craft and gravitas. The look of the suit, the grittiness of Gotham, the fact that people other than Batman’s parents died in these movies, and the musical score! To this day these things give me chills. Others came and went but all were built on the back of Michael Keaton’s version.”
Later in life, William developed a new passion, costuming, or cosplay.
“There was something almost addictive about it. The idea that, rather than playing with action figures with friends as I did when I was a kid, now my friends and I are the action figures! I decided cosplaying Michael Keaton’s Batman would be a goal for me, so I started researching different makers and others’ work, waiting till a proper time. Finally, on my 33rd birthday I decided I needed to treat myself somehow, and it didn’t take long to decide it was time to pull the trigger on my dream cosplay.”
“Johnny and I have talked about the fan film, and to me, I can’t imagine many opportunities more exciting than that. If I could go back and tell myself as a young kid that he’d get to be Batman…well I don’t think I would, because the wait would kill him!”
Stay tuned for news on this developing project and follow Kaotica Studios for more photos and updates!
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** Batman, the Batmobile, and all associated marks and logos are the property of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.**
