Recently, Warner Bros. announced the new anime feature film Batman: Gotham Knight. Set for a July 8, 2008 release, the hope is that it will do for The Dark Knight feature film what the Animatrix did for the second and third Matrix films.

The anime movie Batman: Gotham Knight will fill in the space between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Creators of the new Batman movie worked with Production I.G., Studio 4C, and Madhouse anime studios to make the film. Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki, and Toshiyuki Kubooka are directing a series of six interrelated Batman adventures based on stories by Josh Olson (A History of Violence), David Goyer (Batman Begins), Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series), Greg Rucka (Whiteout), Jordan Goldberg (producer of The Dark Knight), and Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets).

Batman: Gotham Knight will be released ten days before The Dark Knight premieres on July 18. The one-disc set includes a documentary on Batman villains, filmmaker commentaries, and a preview of the new Wonder Woman animated feature. A special edition two-disc set will be available, and includes a documentary on the work and life of Batman creator Bob Kane, a compilation of director Bruce Timm’s favorite Batman: The Animated Series episodes, and more.