The latest animated DC Comics adventure is heading our way this month with Batman: Soul of the Dragon from Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment! The film is set in the 1970s and features the caped crusader uniting to fight both alongside and against a number of martial artists from his past including a number of fan favorites like Richard Dragon, Lady Shiva, and Bronze Tiger.
Ahead of the film’s release, Warner Bros. Entertainment has released a new clip from the film spotlighting Ben Turner, aka Bronze Tiger. The sometimes villainous antihero is a key player in the Suicide Squad in the DC Universe and is a heavily trained martial arts master. He is one of the few people in the entire DC Universe that has managed to best Batman in hand-to-hand combat.
The clip sees Turner spying on and taking down a warehouse full of criminals, showcasing Bronze Tiger’s fighting prowess. Check it out below!
Turner is voiced by Michael Jai White, who previously portrayed Bronze Tiger in live-action on The CW’s Arrow series and is best known for having played the Image Comics hero Spawn in the 1997 live-action film adaptation of the same name.
In a recent interview with CBR, Michael Jai White spoke about his inspiration for this take on the character, saying:
“I looked at Three the Hard Way, Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Jim Kelly; there’s a lot of Jim Kelly in there, those movies. It’s kind of like those blaxploitation characters move into this James Bond-ish kind of setting”
Batman: Soul of the Dragon is the 40th film in the DC Universe animated movies series that dates all the way back to 2007’s Superman: Doomsday. This film features a completely original story and is not adapted from any particular comic book storyline. The plot is meant to be an homage to classic 1970s martial arts films.
The film is directed by Sam Liu, who has directed countless other DC Comics projects including Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, The Death And Return of Superman, and Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay. Also onboard is Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm, who is an executive producer on this project.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon stars David Giuntoli (Grimm) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Dacascos (Double Dragon) as Richard Dragon, Kelly Hu (X2: X-Men United) as Lady Shiva, Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite) as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger, James Hong (Big Trouble In Little China) as O-Sensei, Josh Keaton (Spectacular Spider-Man) as Jeffrey Burr. The film is set to release on Digital HD on January 12, 2021, and will be available on Bluray and 4K UHD on January 26, 2021.
Are you excited for ‘Batman: Soul Of The Dragon‘? What story are you hoping to see adapted as a DC animated film next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for all the latest DC Comics news!
