Nearly a decade ago, the Batman: Gotham Knight animated anthology brought multiple anime styles to the Dark Knight. But next year, Bruce Wayne‘s famous alter ego is taking it even further in his first theatrically released full length anime movie, Batman Ninja. The first trailer for Batman Ninja has been released in Japan, and it’s promising a wild ride even by comic book standards. As you can see in the video below, the Batman of the present finds himself transported to the distant past, with the Joker at the center of it all.
Intriguingly, it appears that the entire movie is set in Japan, even during the present day sequences. So we can assume that this version of Gotham City isn’t an American city. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Batman finds himself surrounded by altered versions of his friends, allies, and surrogate sons, even when trapped in the distant past. Alfred is relatively unchanged (man bun excluded), but Robin, Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Catwoman are quite different.
Of course, it just wouldn’t be a Batman story without some of his greatest villains. The Joker is joined by several of the Bat’s top foes, including the Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy, in addition to unexpected players like Deathstroke the Terminator and Gorilla Grodd, neither of whom is traditionally associated with Batman.
The closing moments of the trailer suggest that Joker’s bringing an anime style mech to this rumble in medieval Japan. But perhaps we’ll see a giant mech Batman in response. No matter which era he’s in, Batman is always Batman. And he’s always prepared.
Warner Bros. hasn’t set an American debut for Batman Ninja yet, but it will be released in Japanese theaters in 2018.
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Images: Warner Bros. Japan
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