Today we wanted to look back at, what we consider, one of the best unofficial animated Terminator projects – which went viral back in 2014, titled ‘Batman versus The Terminator’.
“30 years have passed since Bruce Wayne survived Skynet’s nuclear blasts in August of ’97. Iron demons now roam the planet, and without the requirement to defend the innocent against crime and injustice, Wayne has sought refuge in the bomb shelter that saved his life; the Batcave.
Batman Versus The Terminator
Having scavenged the wasteland for resources, he discovers the radio of a dead soldier. There is static over a frequency. Flesh and blood is rising up to the west. With The Stinger; a riot control vehicular unit built before the apocalypse along with a refitted bomb blast vest, Batman makes his way across what remains of the United States to join forces with the man determined to neutralize the electronic menace – John Connor.”
The original concept for the animated short was by Tony Guerrero, and acts as a great proof of concept of what it would be like if the world of DC Comics, and its popular hero ‘Batman’, collided with the world of Terminator and John Connor’s war against the machines in the future war.
With original music by Noir Deco combined with the very promising Animation / Sound Editing of Mitchell Hammond; we get to see a ‘what if… ‘ animated feature/comicbook spinoff. Mitchell also voiced Batman for the animation.
Watch Batman Versus The Terminator
The animation itself ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger – and when Terminator and Batman fans asked if this would be resolved, Mitchell Hammond (the animator) gave the answer of a resounding NO.
As he explained on his private blog in the comments section:
“Sadly there will be no follow up videos.
Mitchell Hammond
My intention for this animation was to teach myself how to animate. I knew absolutely nothing prior with regards to animating. So while I had the “plot” in my head, in terms of actually making it the entire thing was improvised. I get that people know it took me nearly four years to make, but I don’t think people reeeally get that. For instance, the scene where the soldier walks up to the wall then gets his head blown off; that took me 6-7 months to do during 2011.
To work on a single project for 6-7 months for either a single person or a group is long enough to take a break from and celebrate. For me, however, it was a sign that not only is this thing going to nearly kill me but that it also won’t be over for other 2 and a half years.
I get that because the video is just under five minutes, and therefore just zips by, it’s easy to think I worked on this over the weekend. For everybody else it’s an entertaining video but for me it’s a visual diary of my life for the past four years.
What holds me back from going anywhere further is that I’m human. I suffered mentally and physically and I’m completely discouraged to follow my dreams. So while I’m flattered and overwhelmed by the response, I think I’m just going to ride my 15 minutes of fame and try something else with my life.”
While Mitchell’s journey to realise the project was rewarding for fans, it understandly took a toll on his own personal mental health – and the wealth of resources and programs available to animators today were not so readily available back when Mitchell made Batman versus The Terminator.
Batman Versus The Terminator Poster
Batman Versus The Terminator Test Footage
We are very grateful for the hard work he put into this project and we hope he didn’t completely give up on his dreams. We think he definitely has a place in the animation industry, perhaps in a directorial position.
Would you like to see a full animated feature which unites Bruce Wayne and John Connor against SkyNet?
Happy Batman Day!
Leave a comment…
2 Comments
Great work! He did get the Terminator universe right and Batman as well.
I’ve tried to do some animations, too. I can confirm that it is a lot of hard work.
So thank you Mitchell for that video – I enjoyed it a lot!
So that is the solution 🙂
Batman can save the franchise…