'Because I'm Batman': watch the first trailer for The Lego Batman Movie

Back in 2014, Warner Brothers’s The Lego Movie was an unexpected delight. Rather than lazily trading off the Lego brand name and producing a tired, by-the-numbers cash grab, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller gave audiences a film that was inventive, witty, and surprisingly moving – a tribute to the power of the imagination and the plastic brick.

We’ve therefore been extremely excited about the impending arrival of Chris McKay's spin-off The Lego Batman Movie – and if the first trailer for the film is anything to go by, we’ve not been building up our hopes in vain.

After a short intro in which Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) casually “lays down some beats”, the trailer shows us our hero returning home to his bat cave after a hard day’s superhero-ing – and microwaving his favourite lobster treat.

Fans are already declaring that it looks much, much better than Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (the first reviews for Zack Snyder’s $250 million blockbuster, relesaed tomorrow, haven’t been all that kind).

Perhaps Warner Bros should just accept the inevitable, and sign Arnett’s Lego Batman up to the Justice League without further delay…

Released in February 2017, Lego Batman will also feature the voices of Ralph Fiennes (as butler Alfred Pennyworth), Rosario Dawson (as Batgirl/Barbara Dawson), Michael Cera (as Robin) and  Zach Galifianakis as the Joker.

Director McKay previously worked alongside Lord and Miller as animation co-director on The Lego Movie.