Batman and the Ninja Turtles Are Getting an Animated Crossover Movie

Back in 2015 when Batman first teamed up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the comics page, it was a pairing that fans looked at with a bit of incredulity. But Batman/TMNT ultimately turned out well enough, and now the concept is coming to the small screen in animation … with a star-studded vocal cast, no less.

The predictably named Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was announced today, and follows the format you’re probably already expecting: The Dark Knight will run afoul of the Heroes in a Half Shell, briefly battling with them before “teaming up to face Batman’s deadly rogues gallery.” Which is to say: It should be exactly what you expect, but also a rather nostalgic blast at the same time. As for the choice to focus on Batman villains rather than TMNT ones, that’s just a no-brainer. It’s not like Bebop and Rocksteady can stand up to the likes of Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze or Ra’s al Ghul.

Perhaps the biggest news connected to Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the vocal casting. This thing is studded with stars from top to bottom, starting with Troy Baker pulling double duty as BOTH the voice of Batman and The Joker—something that has apparently never been done in a Batman film before. We’ve also got The Assassination of Gianni Versace’s Darren Criss as Raphael, MST3K’s Baron Vaughn as Donatello, SNL’s Kyle Mooney as Michaelangelo, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom as Batgirl, Swiss army knife vocalist Tara Strong as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, and Spongebob himself, Tom Kenny as The Penguin. Seriously, how stacked is that cast? That’s worth the price of admission, just for the list of names.

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will arrive “late this spring” on 4K, Blu-ray and digital. Expect a trailer to drop sometime soon.