Fans have been waiting years for a new Lego Batman game, and the moment is nearly here: the nostalgia-packed Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight arrives May 29.
To get the party started, Warner Bros. Games and DC released a cinematic that recreates an iconic moment from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman in animated, brick-built form—including, of course, the infectious tune from Prince’s soundtrack that accompanies it.
“Partyman” isn’t quite the instantly recognizable jam that “Batdance” is, but it still rips, even 37 years later. Prince’s Batman soundtrack went double platinum, but due to rights issues with Warner Bros., the songs from it didn’t appear on any compilations until 2016—the same year Prince passed away. Even still, the soundtrack remains one of the most memorable elements in Burton’s film, and its inclusion in the Legacy of the Dark Knight cinematic perfectly ties into the game’s stated mission of being “inspired by decades of Batman films, television shows, comic books, and games.”
Just for fun, here’s the sequence from Burton’s film to compare—this clip features the scenes that bookend the vandalism spree, including Jack Nicholson’s Joker tangling with Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale. You will also notice the Joker has his white face covered with tan foundation at the beginning of the clip… but his true colors slip through at the end.
