While most of the movie world is absorbed in the hype that is Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, there’s that other Batman movie currently in production that's being criminally overshadowed. The Lego Batman is the Lego Movie spinoff that we both need and deserve. It’s been quietly putting together an absolutely amazing cast and it just keeps getting better. Oscar winner Ralph Fiennes has just signed on to voice Lego Alfred Pennyworth.
Alfred is traditionally Batman’s trusted confidant and assistant. While we’re sure these things will be technically true of his Lego counterpart, we expect this will surely be the funniest version of Batman’s butler ever to be on screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fiennes will join a long line of recent high profile, Oscar-winning Alfreds. He was most recently played by Michael Caine in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, and will be portrayed by Jeremy Irons in the upcoming follow-up to Man of Steel.
This is just another great casting choice for Lego Batman. Will Arnett will be reprising his role as Batman from The Lego Movie but the film will also star Rosario Dawson as Batgirl and Michael Cera as Robin. In addition, Zach Galifianakis is reported to be in talks to play Lego Joker. This is certainly some top-notch talent who could put together an hilariously ridiculous movie.
Ralph Fiennes is mostly well known for playing proper English gentlemen in his movies. Well, that and Lord Voldemort. Still, we can’t help but see Lego Alfred as something along the lines of Monsieur Gustave from The Grand Budapest Hotel. We know Fiennes has the comic timing to pull off the "proper gentlemen" who is anything but proper and that sounds perfect for who this character could be. We know that the Batman of the Lego universe is a troubled, frustrated artist and we have a feeling that Lego Alfred is only going to be able to put up with so much of that crap before he stops caring. Lego Batman was anything but dark and mysterious. We hope Lego Alfred is anything but helpful.
We fully expect the movie to be more than a little nuts. The original film was an education in controlled insanity, and the script for this one is being penned by Seth Grahame-Smith the mind that brought us Pride & Prejudice & Zombies so there’s really no telling where the movie may end up going. Batman was one of the scene stealers in the original Lego Movie, and Will Arnett is going to have to be careful that he doesn’t lose his own movie to one of his co-stars.
Lego Batman is set for a 2017 release.
