Back when the DC Animated Universe was still a fledgling entity their home video releases would often feature animated shorts. Now, a number of years after we last saw one of these releases it’s been confirmed they are being revived.
DC, in partnership with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, are producing five new DC Showcase animated shorts highlighting characters from the wider DC Universe.
The shorts to be released in 2019-2020 are Sgt. Rock, the Phantom Stranger, Adam Strange, Death and Batman: Death in the Family.
The news was first announced by DC guru Gary Miereanu on twitter:
Five new #DCShowcase animated shorts coming in 2019-2020 from @WBHomeEnt @DCComics!
— Gary Miereanu (@SuperPRGuy) May 7, 2019
First up is "Sgt. Rock" – to debut on #BatmanHush.
Also coming: "Adam Strange," "Death," "The Phantom Stranger" & "Batman: Death in the Family."
See your fave fansite for details shortly. #SgtRock pic.twitter.com/Wi7g4aPpeJ
CBR.com has since shared further details on several of the releases:
Bruce Timm is the executive producer and director of Sgt. Rock, with award-winning comic writers Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson and Tim Sheridan providing the script. In the short, a worn out Sgt. Rock finds himself suddenly leading a platoon of legendary monsters into a fight against horrendous Nazi Zombies. Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings) has been cast in the titular role, with Keith Ferguson, William Salyers and Audrey Wasilewski.
Bruce Timm is also producing and directing The Phantom Stranger, which is written by Ernie Altbacker. The short will be set in the 1970s and center around a young adult named Jess, who attends a party hosted in an abandoned mansion by the enigmatic Seth. Weird things begin to happen to Jess and her friends. The Phantom Stranger intervenes to save the young woman from a terrible ending. Peter Serafinowicz (The Tick) will be playing the Phantom Stranger, and Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville, Impastor) provides the voice of Seth. The short also features the voices of Natalie Langer, Grey Griffin and Roger Craig Smith.
Adam Strange is directed and produced by Butch Lukic, who also came up with the story before the proper script was written by J.M. DeMatteis. Space hero Adam Strange is living in a shabby asteroid mining colony where the other residents see him as nothing but an interplanetary derelict. Strange’s true nature is revealed when he has to save the colony from murderous alien insects. The short will also tell Strange’s heroic origins in flashback sequences. Strange will be played by Charlie Weber (How To Get Away with Murder), with Roger R. Cross, Kimberly Brooks, Ray Chase and Fred Tatasciore in supporting roles.
Death is produced and directed by Sam Liu and also written by DeMatteis. It stars Sandmans’s Death, the personification of death in the form of a cheerful goth girl. It tells the story of a struggling artist named Vincent. Vincent meets a mysterious girl who will help him make peace with his inner demons — and his eventual death. Jamie Chung (The Gifted, Big Hero 6) provides the voice of Death, and Leonardo Nam (Westworld) has been cast as Vincent.
Each of the DC Showcase shorts will be included on the home video release of DC Comics major animated titles.
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