LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and the art of creative licence

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s Cinematics Writer & Director has revealed just what went into developing the upcoming video game’s original story. 

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is almost upon us, with the TT Games title looking likely to be another smash hit for the developer when it launches in less than two weeks. Ahead of its imminent arrival, the video game’s Cinematics Writer & Director has discussed how just the right story was ultimately conceived for the brick-built Caped Crusader’s latest digital adventure.

“We were looking at our previous success, [LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga],” said Bob Scott in an interview with CGMagazine, “but we had nine films to use there, and we had a progressive story that ran through the whole thing. We wanted to do something similar with Batman, but every film overlapped in what stories they told, and there wasn’t a through arc that went through all of them.

“So we took our favourite parts and the most iconic moments that we wanted from those IPs, and we decided to make one big tribute to the game, but with one narrative arc. We used The Dark Knight trilogy as a spine, and then it kind of developed from there into a bigger story.”

In addition to nailing the overall tone of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the TT Games team also had to consider the title’s broad target audience and how to balance out the tone of more mature content with a younger demographic.

“The whole Batman story has to start with the death of his parents,” Bob explained. “which is the hardest thing to describe to a child. That scene… it was very difficult, in order to tell it in a way that had pathos, but also, we had to put humour in there.

“Working with LEGO, they’re very conscious about this stuff. So they’re great at being able to advise. DC were there to make sure that we didn’t veer too much from the canon and we stayed true to the characters. With our knowledge and our IP partners, we got there, and it was good, but it always felt like a collaboration.”

Changing some of the more intense moments in Bruce Wayne’s world represented a challenge for TT Games, with the developer tapping into its own unique brand of humour in order to make LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight accessible to all.

“I never thought we would lose any character by taking away the darkness,” Bob elaborated. “Batman has been interpreted in very light-hearted ways as well as dark, and there were plenty of examples that we could take to help guide that hand. There are some downbeat moments in the game, and there’s some moments where you’re like, “Oooh!” and personally, I really wanted that.

“I didn’t want another game where you talk down to a child, you know, condescended to them. I wanted them to feel this. We were telling them a true story, you know, with real feelings and real outcomes, and have those characters come out and come through.”

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight launches on May 22 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, with a Nintendo Switch version also planned for this year. Those who decide to purchase the Deluxe Edition will be able to gain early access a full three days earlier on May 19 and you can check out the new launch trailer for the game right here.

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