Taking a page out of the Wachowski Brothers’ playbook, Warner Brothers are in the process of putting together an Animatrix-style compilation of Batman anime shorts to be issued on DVD prior to the theatrical release of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Entitled Batman: Gotham Knight, the DVD will include 6 stories in all, each penned by an American screenwriter or comic writer such as Josh Olson (A History of Violence), David Goyer (Blade) or Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets). The animation will be handled by renowned production companies Madhouse, Studio 4C and Production I.G. The really interesting thing is that the actual directors are pretty big names too; according to Todd over at Twitch, Bruce Timm will direct at least one of the segments, as will Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue). I have to admit, my first reaction upon hearing this is that it seems like completely the wrong direction to go for Batman, especially with so many animated series on TV shamelessly lifting the Japanese style nowadays. However, with such solid people behind the project, I’m very curious to see what they come up with. Either way, I’m sure it will be great promotion for The Dark Knight (as if the movie needed more promotion). No word yet on a release date for Batman: Gotham Knight, but we’ll keep you posted.