For comic book fans of a certain age, “Knightfall” is one of the biggest Batman story arcs ever published by DC Comics. This arc is infamous for having the Caped Crusader’s back broken by the super steroid-enhanced genius Bane. It was a major inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and was adapted into episodes of several animated shows. This is an epic story that has never been properly appreciated.
When Peter Girardi, executive vice president of Warner Bros. Animation, took to the stage to introduce the film at the 2026 Annecy Animation Festival, he recognized the greatness of the original work.
“You all know this is a very important story in the Batman mythos,” Girardi told the enthusiastic crowd at the festival. “This is so big and so important to the Batman story that it’s spread out over three movies. So this is a trilogy of movies. It’s all animated.”
The first film in the trilogy, entitled Part 1: Nightfall, premiered to thunderous applause at Annecy, with audiences reacting to its humor, dangerous action and the outstanding role of Tim Drake, the third Robin.
“This story is one we’ve held onto for years because we really wanted to do it right. We needed the right team together,” Girardi added.
The film stars Anson Mount (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) as Batman, Michael Mando (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) as Bane, and Pablo Schreiber (Halo) as Jean-Paul Valley, aka Azrael.
The film is being animated by South Korean Studio Mir Co., who previously worked on “The Legend of Korra.” The studio is no stranger to superheroes, having previously directed “X-Men ’97,” “The Adventures of Superman” and “Young Justice: The Outsiders.” Directed by Jeff Wamester from a screenplay by Jeremy Adams.
First of all. This is a violent movie. DC is no stranger to adult animated films. Since 2016’s The Killing Joke, Warner Bros. Animation has released several R-rated films based on DC Comics, including The Long Halloween and an adaptation of the video game Injustice. Some of these focus on violence, while others focus on curses and sexual content. “Nightfall” has made it clear that it intends to use its ratings to show a violent and dangerous side of Gotham City. The film opens with a gruesome scene in which Azrael makes short work of a group of human traffickers. With the help of a flaming sword, he melted the face of one of the gang members and then cut off the hand of another member in the raging flames. Limbs and blood everywhere, setting the stage for the movie as Gotham descends into hell.
The first part of the trilogy depicts Bane preparing to put Gotham through the ringer in order to defeat Batman. His reasoning was that the Caped Crusader would allow the city to weaken and become too dependent on him to save them, unable to save themselves. This isn’t the Bane from the Nolan trilogy or the funny Bane from the “Harley Quinn” show. This is the scariest villain ever, a terrifying and strangely gigantic monster similar to Toguro’s brother from Yu Yu Hakusho. Bane is not only huge and extremely strong, but he’s also a dangerously smart guy, and his master plan unravels in clever ways throughout the film’s running time, allowing Batman (well, Robin) to do some excellent detective work.
Bane’s plan relies on the world’s greatest detective being overstretched, and Batman has definitely seen better days. This version of the Dark Knight is too thin, stressed out, and incredibly tired. After losing his second Robin, Jason Todd, Batman took it upon himself to repair Gotham without help, fearing to risk the lives of those he cared about. Everyone around him is so worried about Bruce that Alfred forces him to go to therapy. Shondra Kinsolving’s character from the comics has been reimagined as a therapist who tries to get Bruce Wayne to open up about his need for help and his refusal to ask for it. Her initial diagnosis of Wayne was “a rich thug with a messianic complex,” but this jaded, erratic version of Batman drew big laughs from the Annecy crowd as it showed a different side of the DC hero.
Perhaps the scene-stealer of this movie is the third Robin, Tim Drake, who has been less beloved in past DC movies and shows. He’s resourceful and also understands the pain Bruce recently experienced over Jason’s death, and is a pretty good detective who only wants to help his idol. His witty remarks received a huge response from the festival crowd, and his brutal fight with Bane drew several gasps from the audience.
“We have made many DC animated films based on published material,” Girardi told the Annecy crowd before the start of the film. “This is one of the best.” This is only the first part of a trilogy, but depending on audience reaction, DC might be on to a winner.
