"Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires” (HBO Max Feature) News & Discussion (Spoilers)

[RoyalRubble]

A new animated feature, “Batman Azteca: Choque de Imperios” (“Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires”) was announced by HBO Max Latin America.

HBO Max Latin America has unveiled a new take on the Dark Knight in the upcoming animation feature “Batman Azteca: Choque de Imperios” (“Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires”) in the first ever collaboration between Warner Bros. Animation, Particular Crowd, Mexico’s Anima and “Book of Life” producer Chatrone. The new project was announced Monday night at a cocktail event held at the 37th Guadalajara Int’l Film Festival (FICG).

The original, Spanish-language animated film places the iconic DC superhero against the backdrop of Aztec Mexico and immerses viewers in the enigmatic culture of Mesoamerica.

The tale centers on a young Aztec boy, Yohualli Coatl, whose father, village leader Toltecatzin, is murdered by Spanish Conquistadors. Coatl flees to Tenochtitlan to warn King Moctezuma and his high priest, Yoka, of looming danger. “Using the temple of Tzinacan, the bat god, as a lair, Yohualli trains with his mentor and assistant, Acatzin, developing equipment and weaponry to confront the Spaniard invasion, protect Moctezuma’s temple, and avenge his father’s death,” the synopsis reads.

Juan Meza-León (“Harley Quinn”) directs the feature, while Anima’s José C. García de Letona and Fernando De Fuentes serve as producers alongside Chatrone’s Aaron D. Berger and Carina Schulze.

Sam Register and Tomás Yankelevich serve as executive producers. Alejandro Díaz Barriga, an expert on Mesoamerican studies and the ethnic history of Mexico and the Andean region, will work closely with the creative team to make certain that the indigenous representation portrayed in the film is appropriate and relevant.

Comments?

 

[SweetShop209]

Well this was unexpected, but it should be interesting. I expect the English dub will have a pretty stacked cast.

 

[RoyalRubble]

This kind of reminds me of Batman Ninja in how their adapting Batman into a different era or culture. It sounds like a pretty interesting concept so I am kind of interested in seeing how this plays out.

 

[M.O.D.O.K.]

I should be a bit annoyed that we keep getting Batman project after Batman project, but I'm also pretty biased towards Aztec and other Mesoamerican mythology, so I'm excited. And it's pretty cool to have something to make up for the absence of Onyx Equinox season 2, of course.

 

[Frontier]

This is really unexpected. I wonder if this even needs to be attached to Batman at all but maybe it'll be more justified than I'm giving it credit for .

 

[Yojimbo]

Very cool. Was wondering if they were ever going to have streaming animated movies.

 

[TFormersMarvel]

I recall there was a Deadline article, back in December 2020, that revealed HBO Max's plans to fund international originals based on DC properties.

“One of the things that we’re going to do with Max is that all of our international productions will eventually live on Max and we’re going to do a much better job of coordinating between all of the folks programming in Europe, Latin America and Asia so if there’s anything that we’re developing that has real cross-border appeal, we’ll be able to highlight that,” [Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer of HBO and HBO Max] said.

So it's cool to see that initiative coming to fruition! The premise also sounds intriguing as an Elseworlds story, despite being another Batman adaptation. While the name didn't ring a bell, the animation studio attached (Anima) is probably best known for their Legend Quest series and films.

 

[M.O.D.O.K.]

I should nitpick and say that the Spanish title should probably be another word than "Choques" since that's more associated with crashes than clashes.

While the name didn't ring a bell, the animation studio attached (Anima) is probably best known for their Legend Quest series and films.

I'm familiar with their Leyendas work. Their earlier work is VERY rough, but they've been improving a lot as the Legend Quest series shows.

 

[RoyalRubble]

I remember the report about international DC Comics projects but I presumed it would only concern live-action (and posted about it in the other "DC on HBO Max" topic). It's a nice surprise they're also doing animated features, and figures they would start with Batman.

EDIT:
Jose Iturriaga worked as concept artist for the movie.

 

[SweetShop209]

Imagine if Jim Krieg was involved with the English dub given how, besides his WB material, he also developed the Legend Quest series.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

So I take it this will be a period piece set in the early 1500s?

 

[Yojimbo]

So I take it this will be a period piece set in the early 1500s?

The article said it's set in Aztec Mexico and involves Spanish conquistadors... so yeah. Somewhere in the range of 1519 to 1521 give or take.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Monica Robles Corzo also did concept art for this.

 

[James Harvey]

Some voice cast details for the upcoming Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios (Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires) have been released. Check out the details at WF!

 

[Frontier]

Some voice cast details for the upcoming Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios (Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires) have been released. Check out the details at WF!

Very helpful of them to list which Bat-Characters they're playing Aztec versions of .

 

[RoyalRubble]

The Hernan Cortes/Two-Face combination sounds pretty interesting. I was kind of expecting them to use the actual Ra's al Ghul as a villain here but this should work, too.

 

[M.O.D.O.K.]

Here's some images for Batman, Joker, and Two-Face.


I only recognize Omar Chaparro. He's a comedian who's done some Spanish dub work such as Syndrome from The Incredibles. He sort of sounds like a Hispanic Tony Hale. Interesting that they're portraying Hernan Cortes as their Two-Face, but apparently he sounds to be just a generic villain.

 

[Frontier]

I wonder if we'll get Aztec Catwoman...

 

[Otaku-sempai]

IMDb is crediting director Juan Meza-León as also being the screenwriter, but I do not know if that is accurate.

 

[Yojimbo]

4/25/23: Might deal with a second potential threat: the end of the world.

4/27: There will be a first look at the Annecy Festival this summer.

5/11: On the Annecy site, the first look is set for June 14, 11:30-12:45 in Salle Pierre Lamy.

6/7: Annecy Festival first look will feature director Juan Meza Leon and animation studio Anima's character designer Marvick Nunez, Art Director Diego Olascoaga, and producer Jose Carlos Garcia De Letona.