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Yesterday, Warner Bros. and DC Comics unveiled a brand-new trailer for Batman Ninja Vs. Justice League, the follow-up to the 2018 CG-animated film Batman Ninja.
Whereas Batman Ninja saw Bruce Wayne’s bat family and his rogues’ gallery transported into feudal-era Japan, Batman Ninja vs. Justice League sees the reverse. The ancient world of the Japanese crime syndicate is overrunning Gotham via a giant portal rift in the sky. While this would typically be no problem for Batman given enough prep time, the film also sees him contend with the Justice League’s Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, and Jessica Cruz’s Green Lantern. While their reasoning for going to war with Batman and company remains a mystery, the Justice League’s strange allegiance with the yakuza yielded an incredible glow-up for its heroes (or villains, in this context).
As showcased in the trailer, the Justice League members have some cool new designs. Among them is Wonder Woman with a cool irezumi tattoo of a golden eagle on her exposed shoulder, the Flash wearing a straw hat, Aquaman sporting a fisherman’s headband, and Green Lantern adorned in a kimono and a traditional Japanese-style lantern. While Batman doesn’t appear to have joined in on having his design embody an East-meets-West makeover, he does get in a giant mech to fight them, so he more than fulfills his end of the rule of cool prerequisite.
Batman Ninja vs. Justice League will see Japanese actor Koichi Yamadera return to the cowl as Batman. The rest of the film’s cast includes Romi Park as Wonder Woman, Nobuyuki Hiyama as the Flash, Ayane Sakura as Green Lantern, and Akio Otsuka as Aquaman. Fans of the original film’s English dub will likely have to wait a while before they reveal its English-speaking cast members.
The sequel film also sees the return of the original film’s production team. Among them are director Junpei Mizusaki, writer Kazuki Nakashima (Promare), character designer Takashi Ozaki (Afro Samurai), composer Yugo Kanno (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean), and co-director Shinji Takagi.
Batman Ninja vs Justice League will be released digitally in 2025.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
