Spotify, together with Warner Bros. and DC, have found their Batman and Alfred for the forthcoming “Batman Unburied” scripted podcast thriller.
Leading the cast as Bruce Wayne is Winston Duke, whose credits include “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Us.” He’s joined in the project by Jason Isaacs (“Harry Potter” films, “Peter Pan,” “Black Hawk Down,” “The Death of Stalin”) as Bruce’s loyal butler and right-hand man, Alfred.
The podcast, announced last fall, is executive produced by David S. Goyer (“The Dark Knight Rises”) and his company Phantom Four. Spotify hasn’t announced a release date yet for “Batman Unburied,” the first project under a multiyear pact inked by the audio streamer with Warner Bros. and DCfor narrative scripted podcasts.
“Batman Unburied” promises to take listeners on a new journey “deep into the mind of Bruce Wayne,” featuring appearances by a number of classic Batman Super-Villains. At the start of the story, Wayne is a forensic pathologist, working in the bowels of Gotham Hospital and tasked with examining the victims of The Harvester, a gruesome serial killer preying on Gotham’s citizens. Bruce Wayne must face his mental demons — and overcome them in order to save the citizens of Gotham as his alter-ego Batman.
In taking on the role of Bruce Wayne, Duke is crossing from the Marvel to DC superhero universes. He made his feature film debut in “Black Panther” as fan-favorite character M’Baku. The role earned him his first NAACP Image Awards nomination for breakout of the year. He reprised his role as M’Baku in “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Duke most recently starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in Peter Berg’s Netflix crime drama “Spenser Confidential.” His other film credits include Jordan Peele’s “Us,” for which he received an NAACP Image Awards nomination for lead actor in a motion picture. Duke’s upcoming projects include Sony Picture Classics’ “Nine Days,” to be released Aug. 6, in which he stars and serves as an executive producer.
Liverpool native Isaacs notable roles have included Lucius Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” films, Mr. Darling/Captain Hook in “Peter Pan,” Col. William Tavington in “The Patriot” and Maurice in “Good.” In 2014, he appeared with Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman and Jon Bernthal in the World War II-set film “Fury.”
“Batman Unburied” is executive produced by David S. Goyer, Keith Levine and Gracie Wheelan for Phantom Four, Liz Gateley and Elena Blekhter for Spotify, and Rebecca Klngel, Eric Carrasco and Saladin Ahmed, alongside co-executive producer Graham Westerson. Physical production is by Wolf at the Door.
The series is directed by Alex Kemp and written by Eric Carrasco (“Supergirl”), Saladin Ahmed, Rebecca Klingel (“The Haunting of Hill House”) and Graham Westerson.
