As we gear up for the long-awaited Blu-ray release of the 1960s Batman TV series this year, stars Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman) were at the Phoenix Comic Con this past weekend to take part in a Q&A about the classic television show. During the panel the stars were asked for their thoughts on the evolution of the Batman character through the Tim Burton / Joel Schumacher movies of the 80s/90s through to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy and the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
“We come from light and funny times in the sixties when there was a lot of hope and we were living in a marvelous world,” said Newmar (via Comic Book). “There was Kennedy. There was great art and everything. And then we have now. And then we had the dark ages. And then we had the dark Batman. And then they had the darker Batman.”
West then picked up the baton (or should that be batarang?), stating that: “We have of course observed the changes, and it’s become dark and gothic and highly explosive in special effects. And Batman kills more people on the way to the rescue than the villains do. But it’s okay, because they do their thing with a lot of talent and money and attention. We did ours. It was just different. We were the Bright Knight, the fun ones.”
Originally published June 10, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
