'Batman: Death in the Family' isn't an 'Under the Red Hood' remake, here are 5 reasons why it's worth watching
The DC Universe Animated Originals line is all set to release its most exciting venture yet. 'Batman: Death in the Family', an adaptation of the 1988 story that saw the Joker murder Jason Todd / Robin, is coming soon to a digital audience. Close on the heels of the short film's trailer being released online, a number of fans have expressed confusion over whether this is a remake of the beloved 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' movie.
'Death in the Family' does reunite the voice cast from 'Under the Red Hood' but rest assured, they are two very different projects and while 'Death in the Family' is a pseudo-prequel to 'Under the Red Hood', there's more than enough reason for it to attract an audience on its own merit. In fact, here are five reasons why you need to watch 'Batman: Death in the Family':
Interactive storytelling
To start off, 'Death in the Family' is an interactive story along the lines of Netflix's 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'. The audience will have near-total control over how the narrative plays out and that raises some interesting possibilities.
Multiple futures
The reason why 'Death in the Family' isn't a clear prequel to 'Under the Red Hood' is that the movie has some potential storylines where Jason Todd (Vincent Martella) doesn't become the Red Hood. In fact, the trailer shows at least two other possible futures, one where Jason becomes Red Robin and another where he becomes a version of Hush, complete with bandages covering him from head to toe.
Exploring Jason Todd to the fullest
With all these possibilities on the table, this will be the fullest exploration of Jason Todd that we've ever seen in any media. Never before have we had such a chance to play with a pivotal moment in the character's history and see how it changes him as a person. If you ever wanted to find out what Jason is beneath all that trauma and angst, this is your chance.
Batman like you've never seen him before
Of course, while the movie might ultimately be about Jason, it's still a Batman film. Just as the audience affects Jason's life, we'll also get to see how it affects the life of Batman (Bruce Greenwood). The trailer for the movie teases that in all possible futures, Jason still becomes a killer but we don't know what changes that might bring to Batman. The audience will have a whole lot of choices to make in the film and even though we don't know if making Batman kill someone is a choice the creators will allow, there is the possibility that we could see Batman take the darker path.
Righting an old wrong
Perhaps the most important reason to watch 'Death in the Family' is to revisit the moment of Jason's death at the hands of the Joker (John DiMaggio). In 1988, the audience decided to kill the child via a phone poll and now we get to see that choice play out once again on a more individual level. It's one thing to say "I don't like him, let's kill him off" and another altogether to see him drag his broken body across the floor and still opt to kill him. If nothing else, this movie is going to expose a lot of our own inner demons and should be as much an examination of ourselves as it is of the characters dancing on our strings.
'Batman: Death in the Family' is scheduled to release on Blu-ray and Digital HD in the Fall of 2020. Check the trailer out here.