So, the new Batman arc is sure weird…
Yesterday, Warner Bros. started streaming a new TV spot for Batman Ninja. The 15-second spot sees Popuko and Pipimi from Pop Team Epic taking the roles of the Dark Knight and The Joker in a skit.
The spot ends with a confirmation that Popuko-Batman and Pipimi-Joker toys will be offered at retail. Kamikaze Douga, who is producing Batman Ninja, also handled the Pop Team Epic anime.
Warner will release Batman Ninja on DVD, Blu-Ray (Steelbook), and a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. The film will hit North American retailers on May 8.
Junpei Mizusaki (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Opening Credits Producer) was tapped to direct Batman Ninja at his Kamikaze Douga studio. Takashi Okazaki (Garo -Vanishing Line-, Summer Wars – Oz segments) will provide character designs, while Kazuki Nakashima (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill) will write the scripts.
Yuugo Kanno (Blame!, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) will score the title’s soundtrack.
The Japanese voice cast includes:
- Bruce Wayne/Batman: Kouichi Yamadera
- Joker: Wataru Takagi
- Selina Kyle/Catwoman: Ai Kakuma
- Harley Quinn: Rie Kugimiya
- Alfred: Houchu Ohtsuka
- Bane: Kenta Miyake
- Deathstroke: Junichi Suwabe
- Gorilla Grodd: Takehito Koyasu
- Nightwing: Daisuke Ono
- Penguin: Chō
- Poison Ivy: Atsuko Tanaka
- Red Hood: Akira Ishida
- Red Robin: Kengo Kawanishi
- Robin: Yuuki Kaji
BATMAN and all related characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. © 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment All rights reserved. Two-Face: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Takashi Okazaki was the author of the original Afro Samurai manga, which launched in Nou Nou Hau magazine in 1999. Leo Chu and Eric Garcia both served as executive producers on the Afro Samurai anime, as well as sequel film Afro Samurai: Resurrection.
Warner Bros. describes the film as:
Batman Ninja takes a journey across the ages as Gorilla Grodd’s time displacement machine transports many of Batman’s worst enemies to feudal Japan – along with the Dark Knight and a few of his allies. The villains take over the forms of the feudal lords that rule the divided land, with the Joker taking the lead among the warring factions. As his traditional high-tech weaponry is exhausted almost immediately, Batman must rely on his intellect and his allies – including Catwoman and the extended Bat-family – to restore order to the land, and return to present-day Gotham City.
