Back in December we brought you first looks at the upcoming Batman Ninja animated movie. Those early looks at the film featuring only the native Japanese language audio tracks. Now Warner Bros. has formally announced the films released and re-released that trailer with the English language audio track.
The film will be released digitally in North America on April 24, with physical blu-ray and DVD sales hitting retailer shelves on May 8. European dates are yet to be confirmed. Below you will find the new version of the trailer, the press release announcing the film and its English language cast.
Head to the bottom of the page for a sneaky peek at the Blu-Ray cover art!
Prepare to witness the Dark Knight, alongside many of his most famed allies and infamous foes, in an eye-popping anime display you’ve never seen before when Warner Bros. Japan, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment present Batman Ninja. The all-new, feature-length animated film arrives on Digital starting April 24, 2018, and Blu-ray™ Steelbook, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on May 8, 2018.
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.
The visually stunning Batman Ninja is the creative result of a trio of anime’s finest filmmakers: director Jumpei Mizusaki (Opening animation of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure), writer Kazuki Nakashima (Gurren Lagann), and character designer Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai) produced the original movie with Warner Bros. Japan. The script was then reinterpreted and rewritten for English-language distribution by award-winning screenwriters Leo Chu and Eric Garcia (Supah Ninjas, Afro Samurai). Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan are Executive Producers.
Roger Craig Smith (Batman: Arkham Origins) and Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development) lead an impressive cast as the voices of Batman and the Joker, respectively. Grey Griffin (Scooby-Doo franchise) and Tara Strong (Batman: The Killing Joke) supply the voices of the antagonist & protagonist’s closest allies – Catwoman and Harley Quinn, respectively – while Fred Tatasciore (Family Guy) provides the gruff-yet-sophisticated tones of Gorilla Grodd, a villain who must team with Batman to achieve his own personal agenda. Other voice actors include Bat-family members Yuri Lowenthal (Ben 10: Omniverse) as Robin, Adam Croasdell (Reign) as Nightwing and Alfred, and Will Friedle (Boy Meets World) as Red Robin, and the Rogue’s gallery also features Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Penguin and Eric Bauza (The Adventures of Puss in Boots) as Two-Face. Doing double duty is Tatasciore as Deathstroke, Strong as Poison Ivy, and Friedle as Red Hood.
Batman Ninja is a story written by Kazuki Nakashima (Kill La Kill) and character designer Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai) has put his own spin on the world of Batman. The film is directed by Junpei Mizusaki with music by Yugo Kanno and production by Kamikaze Douga.
The original version stars Koichi Yamadera as Batman with Wataru Takagi as The Joker, Ai Kakuma as Catwoman, and Rie Kugimiya as Harley Quinn. No news yet on an English language cast but a dubbed version is expected.