Every new Batman project comes with expectations. Whether it’s live-action or animated, gritty or fantastical, each iteration of the Dark Knight finds itself compared to the monumental legacy of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’.
The film changed the game, not just for Batman, but for comic book cinema as a whole. Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning Joker, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, and Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne set the bar so high that every Bat-film since has lived in its shadow. However, Batman’s next movie isn’t playing by the same rules.
This Batman Will Have A Completely Different Origin Story
Instead of sticking to Gotham City, another brooding Bruce Wayne, or the same cycle of rehashed villains, DC’s upcoming animated feature, ‘Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires’, will completely shift the setting. Moreover, if the trailer is anything to go by, this new take may deliver a villain team-up that flips The Dark Knight’s legacy on its head. Scheduled for release on September 18, 2025, ‘Clash of Empires’ is an Elseworlds animated film, which means it exists outside of DC’s main continuity.
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That freedom allows it to tell a bold, self-contained story without worrying about fitting into larger timelines like Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ saga. Here, Batman isn’t Bruce Wayne at all. Instead, the mantle is taken up by Yohualli Coatl, a young man from the Aztec Empire. After his father is murdered, Yohualli finds strength in the temple of Tzinacan, the bat god, and rises as a new kind of Dark Knight. He is born not of Gotham’s shadows, but of Tenochtitlán’s ancient power.
The concept is instantly refreshing. For all the adaptations Batman has had, most stick to the same story. So, by setting this story in a completely different world and tying Batman to Aztec mythology, DC is reimagining its most popular hero in a way that feels both daring and overdue. However, the real surprise isn’t just the setting, it’s the villains. Instead of introducing an entirely new rogue’s gallery, Aztec Batman brings back some of Batman’s most iconic adversaries. This includes Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.
‘Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires’ Teases Joker And Two-Face Alliance
The biggest hook from the Aztec Batman trailer is the teased alliance between Joker and Two-Face. Longtime Batman fans immediately recognize the inversion here because in Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’, the Joker and Two-Face were at odds. Joker may have set Harvey Dent on his villainous path, but Two-Face never served him. He was the tragic outcome of Joker’s chaos, not a partner in crime.
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In ‘Aztec Batman’, that dynamic shifts. Joker (as Yoka) seems to be actively recruiting Two-Face (as Cortés), telling him, “Put your trust in me.” The imagery is striking. Joker is wearing conquistador armor, standing beside Cortés, hinting that this version of Two-Face and Joker could form an alliance rather than a rivalry. This flips the script on Nolan’s classic dynamic, where Joker dismantled Gotham by corrupting Dent into an enemy Batman had to face.
Here, Joker and Two-Face may actually join forces. This creates a threat unlike anything Batman or the audience has seen before. And that’s the brilliance of Elseworlds storytelling. By moving outside Gotham and reimagining these characters, DC is free to experiment with fresh villain dynamics. Instead of repeating the same arcs we’ve seen dozens of times, they can explore “what if” scenarios that feel bold.
