Batman Unburied

Batman Unburied is an American superhero audio drama podcast series created by David S. Goyer featuring the DC Comics hero Batman. It is the first of a series of Spotify-produced scripted podcasts based on DC's characters. The second, Harley Quinn and The Joker: Sound Mind, was released in 2023.

In June 2022, a second season of Batman: Unburied was commissioned, in addition to a spin-off entitled The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, which debuted on October 10, 2023.

Cast

 * Winston Duke as Bruce Wayne
 * Hasan Minhaj as The Riddler
 * Gina Rodriguez as Barbara Gordon
 * Jason Isaacs as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Lance Reddick as Thomas Wayne
 * Sam Witwer as the Harvester
 * Emmy Raver-Lampman as Kell
 * Jessica Marie Garcia as Renee Montoya
 * Jim Pirri as Arnold Flass
 * Toks Olagundoye as Martha Wayne
 * John Rhys-Davies as Dr. Hunter
 * Ashly Burch as Vicki Vale
 * Justin and Griffin McElroy as Henchmen
 * Travis McElroy as Officer Preslowski
 * Blair Bess as Lt. Stan Kitch

Production
In June 2020, it was announced that Spotify had signed a deal with DC and Warner Bros. to produce scripted podcasts set in the DC Universe. Future installments were later revealed to be focusing on such characters as Superman, Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, Joker, Catwoman, Katana, The Riddler, Batgirl and Harley Quinn.

In September, the first podcast was announced as Batman Unburied, written by David S. Goyer.

In July 2021, Winston Duke and Jason Isaacs were announced to star as Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth, respectively. Hasan Minhaj's casting was announced in September, along with Lance Reddick, Toks Olagundoye, John Rhys-Davies and Ashly Burch.

By October, the final main cast members had been unveiled: Gina Rodriguez, Sam Witwer, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jessica Marie Garcia and Jim Pirri.

On April 5, 2022, a trailer was revealed, alongside the release date of May 3.

Reception
Writing in The Guardian, Graeme Virtue described Batman Unburied as "Instead of bright fights in tights, this is a slow-burning psychological thriller. ... Heavy on immersive sound design and (initially, at least) light on action, it is an impressively bleak take on a familiar myth, with the added frisson of the occasional F-bomb." Virtue also noted that in May 2022, the podcast displaced The Joe Rogan Experience as the No. 1 show on Spotify's podcast chart. After the debut of the first two episodes on May 3, 2022, the series topped Spotify's charts in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Mexico and India. The same week it was No. 2 in Japan. It remained at the top or near the top of the chart throughout its five-week run.

The Los Angeles Times noted that "Due to the lack of visuals, the immersive sound design shines throughout the series. Batman Unburied is chock-full of authentic soundscapes that sound — in the best way possible — eerie and haunting" and that "It's also far more focused on Batman's mental psyche rather than Batman's physical brutality. It replaces action set pieces with mystery, suspense and horror."

International adaptations
Also on April 5, Spotify announced that in addition to the main U.S. production, the script would be adapted for eight other countries, each with its own localized cast and production crew. They are set to be released on the same date as the original English language version.

In these adaptations, the cast of Batman Unburied consists of:

Future
In June 2022, Batman: Unburied was renewed for a second season.

Spin-off
A spin-off of Batman: Unburied, entitled The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, premiered on October 10, 2023. Hasan Minhaj reprises his role as the Riddler. The cast also includes Colman Domingo (replacing Winston Duke as Batman), Calum Worthy, Hannah Simone, Peyton Crim, Hugh Scott, Bri Giger, Aflamu Johnson and Amy Argyle. Gina Rodriguez, Jim Pirri, Jason Isaacs, and Ashly Burch all reprise their roles from Batman: Unburied.