Bruce Timm Wants a “Superman: Red Son” Animated Film

Bruce Timm says that he would like his next project to be an animated adaptation of Superman: Red Son, but adds that that depends largely on the success of the upcoming Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.

Timm is, of course, one of the architects of the wildly successful DC Animated Universe (DCAU) and remains involved with the company’s projects. Most notably he revisited his most famous show, Batman: The Animated Series, with the recent film Batman and Harley Quinn. That film was part of the DC Animated Original Movies line, which feature a variety of direct-to-DVD films about a variety of subjects.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is that franchise’s next entry, available for digital download on January 23, 2018 and on Blu-Ray on February 6. It is based on 1989’s Gotham by Gaslight, which reimagined Batman as a hero during the Victorian Era, using steampunk technology to fight the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper when he travels to Gotham from England.

This graphic novel that is considered to be the first story in DC Comics’ “Elseworlds” line, which reimagined the company’s superheroes in different realities or situations outside of usual canon. These stories came to an end in 2003, and one of the last ones to come out that year was Superman: Red Son, written by Mark Millar.

This story reimagined Superman’s origins so that instead of landing in a small town in Kansas, he landed on a collective farm in Ukraine during the Cold War. As such, he was taken in by Joseph Stalin and trained to become a proud Soviet citizen. While still a well-meaning person at heart, Superman’s new set of values causes him to become dictator of a growing empire as Lex Luthor is recruited by the American government to stop him.

The story proved incredibly popular with fans, and regularly tops the list of stories that they would like to see get adapted. According to Timm, the success of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight could convince the studio that there is enough interest in such offbeat stories to justify giving them a shot at their own films. Currently it is expected to do well, so many will be hoping that Timm gets his wish for this and other Elseworld stories down the line.