We’re less than one month away from the premiere of the latest DC animated film, Batman: Soul of the Dragon! This is one of projects I’m most looking forward to with its blend of 70’s style action, martial arts and of course the Batman family.
In the newly released images, we see:
- A long angle shot of O’Sensei (voiced by James Hong) greeting Bruce Wayne (voiced by David Giuntoli) in a candlelit great hall,
- A clear shot of O’Sensei teaching Bruce Wayne and Rip Jagger (voiced by Chris Cox) about the ritual of attempting to break the stone,
- A close-up of a young Richard Dragon (voiced by Mark Dacascos) in what also looks to be in the same hall where O’Sensei is teaching.
- Lady Shiva (voiced by Kelly Hu)Â facing off against what I can only assume is a ninja holding a sai.
I really hope we get extended martial arts training sequences with O’Sensei, Bruce Wayne, Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva. Some of the best scenes in any martial arts story is the training, and often that part of Batman’s past is glossed over or overlooked entirely. We’ve seen plenty of the fully realized Dark Knight in other stories and it would be fun to see how he became one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the DC universe.
Additional details and the gallery of images below. Batman: Soul of the Dragon releases January 12, 2021 on digital and January 26, 2021 on 4K and Blu-ray!
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An all-new original animated film, “Batman: Soul Of The Dragon” does a deep dive into Elseworlds vibes by putting Batman in the midst of the swinging 1970s. Faced with a deadly menace from his past, and along with his mentor O-Sensei, Bruce Wayne must enlist the help of three former classmates – world-renowned martial artists Richard Dragon, Ben Turner and Lady Shiva – to battle the monsters of this world and beyond. The film is rated R for some violence.
The ensemble cast features a core group of actors playing martial arts students-turned-heroes in David Giuntoli (Grimm, A Million Little Things) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Dacascos (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Iron Chef America, Hawaii Five-0) as Richard Dragon, Kelly Hu (Arrow, X2: X-Men United) as Lady Shiva and Michael Jai White (Spawn, reprising his role from Arrow) as Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger. Their mentor O-Sensei is voiced by James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China, Blade Runner). Josh Keaton (Voltron: Legendary Defender; Green Lantern: The Animated Series) is featured as Jeffrey Burr, and additional voices are provided by veteran VO actors Grey Griffin, Chris Cox, Erica Luttrell, Robin Atkin Downes, Patrick Seitz, Jamie Chung and Eric Bauza.
Sam Liu (Reign of the Supermen, Batman: The Killing Joke) is Producer and Director of Batman: Soul Of The Dragon, utilizing a script by Jeremy Adams (Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge). Producers are Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) and Kimberly S. Moreau (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Michael Uslan is Executive Producer. Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: Red Son) and Sam Register are Executive Producers.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. Â He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
