Last month, WB revealed a sequel to its 2018 movie Batman Ninja was in the works. With the intriguing title of Batman Ninja vs. the Yakuza League, you had to wonder what the Dark Knight would be up to next–and the answer is, fight the Justice League.
Yep, our premise this time is that Batman and Robin (his son Damian) are going up against period-specific villainous counterparts of his superpowered friends. Interestingly, it looks like the Dynamic Duo are in an alternate version of present day Japan rather than feudal Japan in the original film, and the characters’ designs reflect that. Aquaman is a fisherman, Wonder Woman a formidable warrior, Flash appears to be a ronin, and Green Lantern Jessica Cruz wielding an actual lantern to channel her power. Why have they gone evil? That’s a big question mark, but it’ll fall to Batman and Robin to take them down and possibly revert them back to their old selves.
Also notably missing from the lineup here is Superman. Other stories of Batman fighting the League make sure to have the Man of Steel somewhere in the mix, typically as the big bad of the whole affair. Maybe WB is keeping him out of marketing to avoid him overshadowing the other Yakuza members and this being boiled down to yet another “Batman vs. Superman” story. This looks pretty promising regardless; that first movie had its fans for being pretty ridiculous, and bringing in Bruce’s coworkers looks like a fun elevation from that. Hopefully we see more of Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League sometime soon, and that its release on digital and physical formats isn’t too far behind.
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.
