BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER

    Paul Dini, producer of the Batman Beyond animated series on Kids' WB!, provided first details of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a straight-to-video movie from Warner Bros. which was released Nov. 12, 2000.

      "Mark Hamill is back playing several key roles, one of which is, of course, the Joker, who has miraculously turned up in the time of Batman Beyond," Dini told . "The other role is sort of a surprise, and that's all I'll say about it now.

    "I will say that for long-time Bat-fans, this is the big story they've been demanding for two years, bridging the gap between the classic Batman Animated series and Batman Beyond.  Nearly a fourth of the film is a flashback which shows the classic Bat-team in action, dealing with a problem that is not fully resolved until Terry McGinnis enters the picture decades later. 

    "Throughout the film a number of secrets will be revealed, including what happened to Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing, as well as the details of that fateful night years before when the first Batman fought the Joker one last time. 

     "Fans will also learn secrets about Terry's past and his reason for continuing to be Batman long after he's avenged his father's death.  In addition to this, we've got a bunch of new villains, appearances by a few old ones and many more surprises."

    Dini, who wrote the script for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, told that voice recording for the movie has been completed.

    "One bit of guest-star news I can give you is that among the many new villains introduced in the film are twin hit-girls both named Dee-Dee," Dini said.  "They are played by everyone's favorite teen witch, Melissa Joan Hart."

    Hart, the star of ABC's Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, has worked with the Bat-crew before. She did the voice of Saturn Girl in an episode of Superman.

Thank you to the Comics Continuum for this information.