DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Gets Animated Cast

Original cover to Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns #1' CREDIT:

The Dark Knight is rising this summer, but this fall thanks to Warner Home Video, he also Returns. Frank Miller's seminal work, Dark Knight Returns is coming to animated film with not one but two editions, coming Fall 2012 and Spring 2013, and now we know who will be voicing the characters in the films thanks to The Hollywood Reporter.

Peter Weller, known most famously for Robocop (a character Miller has coincidentally also worked on in comics), is the newest actor to virtually don the cape and cowl as the voice of Batman. Ariel Winter, the younger daughter on Modern Family will play Carrie Kelly, the female Robin. David Selby, Wade Williams, and Michael McKean have also joined the cast.

DC Comics Premiere Movies, as these animated features are now labeled, also announced that Bob Goodman, a writer from Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Static Shock, and more is writing the script for the two-part film. Jay Olivia, a DC Animated and Warner Bros live action veteran is directing.

Dark Knight Returns is one of the most well-respected works in comics, almost always included on "best of" lists, and largely considered responsible for the darker, grittier take on Batman that has been prevalent since its release in 1986. The story takes a long-retired Batman out of hiding as he tries to take back Gotham City in a world where superheroes virtually no longer exist. The story features familiar faces like Alfred Pennywoth, Two-Face, the Joker, Superman, and Green Arrow, but no word yet on which of those will make it into the film.