Warner Bros. has just released the first trailers for the upcoming anime, Batman Ninja, online. After its announcement in late September, a poster for the anime was released for New York Comic Con. Now the first official trailers have been released for the film, which will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray next year.
In Batman Ninja, the Caped Crusader and a selection of his enemies and allies are thrown back in time to medieval Japan. The trailers show the Dark Knight donning shogun’s armor to take on an extravagantly costumed Joker. The centrepiece of the film comes as the two clash on a rooftop, each wielding a katana. We also get a look at a range of supporting DC characters, redesigned in the trappings of feudal Japan. Nightwing and at least two Robins fight at Batman’s side, as does his sometime-enemy-sometime-love-interest, Catwoman. Rounding out the Caped Crusader’s reimagined rogues gallery are Deathstroke, the Penguin, Harley Quinn, Two-Face and Gorilla Grodd. You can check out the two trailers – one with English subtitles, one without – below:
The project is being directed by Jumpei Mizusaki, who previously worked on the anime adaptation of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, while Afro Samurai creator, Takashi Okazaki, is the character designer. The film is written by Kazuki Nakashima and English-language screenwriters, Leo Chu and Eric Garcia.
Batman Ninja is one of two animated Batman features set for video release next year, the other being Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. Interestingly, both projects take Batman back in time and away from the USA, with Gotham by Gaslight set in a version of Gotham in Victorian Britain.
Are you looking forward to seeing Batman trade modern Gotham for feudal Japan? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Batman Ninja will be released sometime in 2018.
Source: YouTube
