Aztec Batman: The Clash Of Empires Wants To Give You A Caped Crusader Like You've Never Seen Before [Annecy 2023]

There are countless reimaginations of the Batman mythos taken to film. We've had alternate universes where he fights Jack the Ripper in Victorian Gotham, a version transported to feudal Japan, another version set in revolutionary in Russia, and even one where Batman is a vampire. But the common thread through all of these is that it is the same origin story every time, the same Bruce Wayne, only with a different flavor. You know what to expect, where the story is going, and who this guy is. 

All that is about to change with "Aztec Batman: The Clash of Empires," a movie that aims to completely reinvent the Dark Knight and give us not Bruce Wayne or even his Spanish counterpart Bruno Diaz, but instead introduce Yohualli Coatl, an Aztec man who is scarred by the murder of his father at the hands of Spanish Conquistadors and decides to fight back by becoming a warrior of the night, a silent protector, a caped crusader.

Warner Bros. Animation and studio Ánima took to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to give audiences a very first look at the upcoming "Aztec Batman."

Audiences got to see a brief scene of very early and rough footage showing Batman fighting Conquistadors with a big obsidian sword, stalking them with his armor dedicated to the Aztec bat god, Tzinacan, and living in his ancient cave full of Olmec ruins. Towards the end of the presentation, we also got a sizzle reel that looks more complete, showing lots of fighting, a beautifully animated Tenochtitlan full of color and life, and Batman using his glider, here reinvented as a Leonardo da Vinci design Yohualli steals from the colonizers.

A big emphasis of the presentation was the cultural specificity and authenticity of the film. This is not just Bruce Wayne trapped in time, but a new character with the same essence of vengeance. This caused difficulties for the designers in trying to stay away from the classic image of Batman and his silhouette. 

"No big jaw, no big shoulders. Slimmer. A little less Schwarzenegger, a little more Bruce Lee," director Juan Meza-León explained. Meanwhile, producer José Carlos García de Letona highlighted the importance of working with an expert on Aztec culture. "We wanted to be true to the story we were telling," García de Letona added, adding that they opted for a "leaner physique."

This Batman will still encounter classic DC characters, like Yoka (a new Joker), a high priest and counselor to Moctezuma who goes mad (and in an earlier version would cut off his own cheeks as a sacrifice, but Meza-Leon said it proved a little too gory for some). He also meets Jaguar Woman (Catwoman) who teaches him to fight in the night, as Aztecs only fought in the day. There's Acatzin (our new Alfred), Forest Ivy (Poison Ivy, who plays more like Swamp Thing in her connection to nature), and the film's very own Two-Face, none other than mass genocidal murderer Hernán Cortés.

The film has an all-Mexican crew and cast, with the team saying it was important not to do the film in English and then dub it, but start from a place of authenticity, even adding the Aztec language Nahuatl to the film.

This looks like a great project, one that takes the possibilities of the DC multiverse to new grounds while also giving the opportunity to showcase Mexican talent on a big stage. Though there was no word of a release date or a theatrical release (producer Peter Girardi from Warner Bros. confirmed it'd go to home video and streaming, but wasn't directly asked about theatrical) it is still a great step forward, and the project shows great promise.