NYCC 2024: Batman Goes International with Warner Bros Animation

Batman has always seemed like the quintessential American superhero. His hometown of Gotham is based on New York City (even if it’s meant to be set in New Jersey), and he uses his brains (and his billions) to make up for the fact that he has no super powers. But at this year’s New York Comic Con, Warner Bros. Animation brought some very different Batmans.

Warner Bros. Animation has two upcoming animated films each featuring a different take on Batman, putting Batman – not necessarily Bruce Wayne, but Batman – in completely different cultures.

The first film, Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, is the sequel to the original 2018 film Batman Ninja, which saw Batman being sent back in time to feudal Japan. Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League was originally announced in May of this year; it brings Batman back to a more modern Japan and reimagines the iconic Justice League into villains. Thus you have Batman, and all his various sidekicks, fighting the Yakuza.

Though the film is still in production with no specific release date yet (just 2025), a teaser trailer was screened at this year’s Anime Expo in July, and a longer trailer was shown at NYCC this past weekend.

Directors Jumpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi and writer Kazuki Nakashima came to NYCC from Japan to promote the film, and I got the chance to interview them.

The second film, Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios (Clash of the Empires), reimagines the story of Batman in the context of Mexican history and Mesoamerican culture. Instead of Bruce Wayne, we have Yohualli Coatl, whose father is murdered by conquistadors. He then works with the temple of Tzinacan (an Aztec bat god) to fight the invaders.

Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios is also scheduled to release in 2025.

Director Juan Meza-León and José C. García de Letona were on hand at NYCC to promote the film.

I’ll be honest that I was completely unfamiliar with either of these films before NYCC, and now I’m super excited about both of them. Both creative teams seem very passionate about their projects, which is always amazing. You love to see something that was made with love, by people who are fans of what they’re doing. I cannot wait for these to come out next year.

Stay tuned for more coverage from NYCC 2024!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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