Luke Wilson Talks Merry Little Batman & Bearded Bruce Wayne

In this interview Luke Wilson discusses Merry Little Batman, bearded Bruce Wayne, and even remembers his time on Stargirl.

Merry Little Batman takes place over the Christmas holiday. Damian Wayne’s one true wish for the season is that he wants to be a Super Hero like his dad – the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone on Christmas Eve while Batman deals with Super Villains, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day.

Luke Wilson lends his voice to Batman / Bruce Wayne in this holiday film, but it isn’t his first time in the DC universe. He also played Pat Dugan AKA S.T.R.I.P.E. in CW’s Stargirl. This is one of the first times we are seeing Bruce as an actual father, and not just a father figure. 

Luke Wilson discusses finding his voice for Batman / Bruce Wayne in the new Prime Video film Merry Little Batman! He also gives his two cents on bearded Batman and talks about his time on Stargirl. Of course, we couldn’t talk to Luke about the holidays without discussing holiday treats and traditions.

Luke Wilson Talks Merry Little Batman

Mama’s Geeky: How did you channel your inner dad to find Bruce’s voice in Merry Little Batman?

Luke Wilson: Just based on the title, before I even read the script, you get a good sense of what they’re going for with Merry Little Batman. That it was going to be a sense of fun and laughter and a warmth to it. But yeah, what I was going for, playing Bruce Wayne was, it’s definitely not the Christian Bale or Robert Pattinson, dark dystopian take on it, which we all love, this was a more fun, light hearted approach to it. People have said, did you feel the pressure taking on the mantle of Batman, and maybe I should have, but I didn’t feel a great deal of pressure.

Mama’s Geeky: You get to do two different voices, with the Batdad AI, too. How did you differentiate the two?

Luke Wilson: We never really talked about the voice, I just kind of had the idea that what I was going to go with, and the next thing you know, you’re in the booth doing it. We did make some adjustments and talk about it. And that’s where the director Mike was really helpful. And the other people on the team were. Any project is a team effort. But on something like this where it’s animated, you’re even more aware of the animators, the directors, the people that have to do the storyboards, and the sound and everything. So it’s quite a team. Reading about how long it takes, it takes longer to make one of these than it does a live action movie, so you really want to do your best.

Mama’s Geeky: What did you think when you first saw the animated design of Bruce? He looks so cool.

Luke Wilson: He really does look cool. And yeah, you never know what the style is going to be, or how realistic it is, or how cartoony it is. But for this, they did such a good job of having the actual style of the animation tie in to the tone of the movie.

Mama’s Geeky: So I have to ask, do you find a beard more intimidating?

Luke Wilson: I hope we don’t create too much of a distraction with Bruce Wayne having a beard. Because I’ve been to Comic Con and I know that the fans can really get upset if you deviate from from the playbook. So that was a decision that my bosses at Warner Brothers made. I just assumed it was something like okay, Bruce Wayne has a beard. Maybe it was something for more of an undercover operation. But who knows? Maybe he’ll shave it off. Maybe have a mustache next. Who knows?

Mama’s Geeky: Bruce loves his donuts in this movie. Do you have a favorite holiday treat? Is it donuts?

Luke Wilson: I think it’s just more pie – pie ala mode. Just starting at Thanksgiving, that’s when the pecan pie starts. The apple pie, pumpkin pie. And I just carry that on into Christmas. Like a lot of people, you just tell yourself, hey, I’m going to turn it around in the New Year. In Los Angeles, it doesn’t happen so much, but growing up, people would send things. Different families would send different things to your house growing up, but sadly, doesn’t really seem to happen here in Los Angeles, but you’d get peanut brittle and pralines and things. So yeah, there are all sorts of good things.

Mama’s Geeky: I love the message of father and son coming together in Merry Little Barman. What do you hope kids takeaway from that moment?

Luke Wilson: That’s a good point. My godson is about three now. I’ve just seen him grow up from needing help, to kind of then wanting a little help, to now it’s like no and kind of pushing a hand away that’s trying to like help him walk. So I think everybody, boys and girls, they get to a certain age where they want to grow up, and it’s carries on into like getting a driver’s license, and then going into college, and just moving out. So there are all these stages of growing up where, hopefully, that’ll appeal to kids is, little Batman and Bruce Wayne joining forces and he can even help the elder Batman.

Mama’s Geeky: This isn’t your first time in the DC Universe. I am a huge fan of Stargirl. What would your ideal Stargirl holiday episode be?

Luke Wilson: I feel like we did a few kind of Christmas related episodes. I was just talking to Jeff Johns last night, the creator of Stargirl because he’s created this new company for comic books. And I just had so much fun on that. For me, I was the oldest person on it, surrounded by these great younger actors. Trey Romano who played my son, Mike Dugan, he and I are still close friends. And yeah, we just had so much fun on it. It was such a great crew. I’d never had the experience really of coming back to the exact same cast and the exact same crew. We made it in Atlanta and I’m from Dallas, so it was really fun to be back in that part of the country. I don’t remember specific Stargirl episodes, but there were some Christmasy episodes, just because I can remember walking on set and thinking how nice it looked.

Merry Little Batman comes to Prime Video on December 8th, and it is the perfect way to get in the holiday mood!

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About Merry Little Batman

This Christmas, Damian Wayne wants to be a Super Hero like his dad—the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone while Batman takes on Gotham’s worst Super-Villains on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day.

Merry Little Batman is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based on characters from DC, featuring the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Luke Wilson, James Cromwell, and David Hornsby, and is directed by Mike Roth (Regular Show) from a screenplay by Morgan Evans (Teen Titans Go!) and Jase Ricci (Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham). Roth also serves as executive producer, alongside Sam Register (Looney Tunes Cartoons).

Merry Little Batman to Stream Globally on Prime Video Beginning December 8!