Skip to main content

Keanu Reeves is Batman in DC League of Super-Pets trailer

This weekend, movie theaters belonged to The Batman as Robert Pattinson stepped into the title role to make it his own. However, he’s not the only Batman in the multiverse, or even the only Batman that will make his debut this year. Ahead of the film, Warner Bros. Pictures premiered a new trailer for the kid-friendly stand-alone animated film DC League of Super-Pets. And in this footage, the Dark Knight was voiced by none other than Keanu Reeves.

Reeves is best known for his leading roles in The Matrix and John Wick films. He might be a little too old to pull off a live-action Batman, but in animation, Reeves gets to embrace the two sides of the Caped Crusader. He’s the grim avenger of the night, as well as a softer hero with a heart who can’t resist the charms of his new pet, Ace the Bat-Hound.

Related Videos
DC League of Super-Pets | Batman Trailer

This new trailer downplays almost the entire roster of Super-Pets in favor of establishing the bond between Batman and dog. Even the classic Danny Elfman Batman theme from Tim Burton’s films is used to great effect, before the scenes get quite silly. For example, Superman’s loyal dog, Krypto, has a Batman chew toy that he calls a “squeezie Bruce.” And the Batman is not amused.

Ace and Batman in DC League of Super-Pets.

As you may have gathered, DC League of Super-Pets is geared toward a much younger audience than The Batman. In this world, Krypto and Superman are inseparable pals until the evil Lex Luthor defeats and kidnaps the entire Justice League. To save his master and the rest of the League, Krypto teams up with shelter pets including Ace, PB (a pig), Merton (a turtle), and a squirrel named Chip, all of whom have somehow gained superpowers.

Dwayne Johnson headlines the voice cast as Krypto, with Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound, Vanessa Bayer as PB, Natasha Lyonne as Merton, Diego Luna as Chip, John Krasinski as Superman, and Marc Maron as Lex Luthor. Kate McKinnon, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, and Jameela Jamil also have roles in the film.

Jared Stern directed the film and co-wrote the script with John Whittington. DC League of Super-Pets will hit theaters on Friday, May 20.

Editors' Recommendations

Batman Beyond deserves a ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ animated movie
Terry McGinnis as Batman in promo art for the Batman Beyond animated series.

DC Comics launched its DC Animated Universe to emphatic success with the early '90s phenomenon that was Batman: The Animated Series, and it also sowed the seeds for the universe's most inventive spin on the brooding hero. On top of creating arguably the most quintessential Batman project ever, it paved the way for other characters within the DC Universe to get their time in the spotlight. The most unexpected hit, however, was arguably Batman Beyond. This show and the concept behind it seemed to come out of nowhere, but it became an acclaimed classic nonetheless.

For the time, it's amazing how well the animated show did considering the ambitious choice to take Bruce Wayne out of the mantle and have someone else don the cape and cowl as the series' protagonist instead. But despite how beloved it quickly became, Batman Beyond has yet to receive a new adaptation outside of the comics, yet, the lucrative success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has left the blueprint wide open since 2018.
The animated classic few people know about

Read more
Bye-bye, Batman: Caped Crusader. Animated series is no longer on HBO Max
Early art for Batman: Caped Crusader.

The new leadership team at Warner Bros. Discovery isn't exactly endearing itself to DC fans. Weeks after the Batgirl movie was unceremoniously canceled for a tax break, the highly anticipated animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader, has also been dropped by HBO Max. The one bit of good news is that Caped Crusader isn't canceled, and it is being shopped to other streaming services. But WBD CEO David Zaslav and company are essentially handing a new show with DC's flagship hero to one of HBO Max's competitors.

Via Variety, the most disconcerting aspect about this is that Warner Bros. has no bigger superhero brand than Batman himself. Caped Crusader also marks the return of Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm to the character he reinvigorated in the '90s. Batman and Catwoman comic book scribe Ed Brubaker is on board to write for the series, which is executive produced by Timm, The Batman's Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams. This show is also reportedly a more mature take on the title hero than previous cartoons. It will almost certainly find a new home soon.

Read more
Forget The Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is still the best Batman movie adaptation
Batman spreading his cape in the Mask of the Phantasm poster.

Matt Reeves' The Batman finally brought to the live-action theatrical space an iteration of DC Comics' beloved, brooding superhero that honed in on the crime-noir detective aspect of the character, but Mask of the Phantasm still reigns supreme as being the truest to the character.

It's the first time a live-action adaptation made his "World's Greatest Detective" epithet just as important as being the "Dark Knight," even if Robert Pattinson's grimy and grounded take is still learning what his symbol should mean. However, Mask of the Phantasm -- and the animated universe Paul Dini and Bruce Timm co-created that paved the way for it -- remains the deepest dive into what makes Batman tick while honoring his swathes of comic book mythos.
The Batman brand of "dark deco"

Read more