Suicide Squad Isekai Anime Series Announced by Warner Bros. Japan and WIT Studio

While James Gunn is preparing to reboot the DCU with Superman: Legacy, there are still unconnected titles to be excited about, particularly in animation. My Adventures With Superman aims to deliver a shojo anime version of the Man of Steel, and now, Warner Bros. Japan is ready to unveil an entirely original anime made in Japan that takes DC characters to a whole new world, literally. During a panel at Anime Expo 2023, Warner Bros. Japan and WIT Studio unveiled a brand new anime series titled Suicide Squad Isekai — literally, Suicide Squad Different World. 

?#SuicideSquadISEKAI?

Suicide Squad rampages into Japanese anime in SUICIDE SQUAD ISEKAI, an all-new original anime series collaboration with Warner Bros. Japan and WIT Studio!

▶️ https://t.co/uFZHWuwmt9 pic.twitter.com/n8mDoL1RQV

— DC (@DCOfficial) July 3, 2023

Isekai has quickly exploded to become one of the biggest, most prominent and popular genres within anime in the last decade. The genre involves a protagonist – usually a pretty normal person – getting transported to a fantasy world full of wonderful and dangerous creatures and powers. Western fans aren’t entirely unfamiliar with the genre, with classic titles like Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia essentially serving as isekai, throwing their characters to another, stranger, more magical world.

Though details are scarce at the moment, we do know the show is not connected to Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DC reboot, with WIT Studio CEO George Wada asking the audience to call Gunn and tell him to watch the show. Moreover, it was announced Jujutsu Kaisen chief animation director Eri Osada will direct Suicide Squad Isekai, while Tappei Nagatsuki and Eiji Umehara will handle the writing. Nagatsuki and Umehara are no strangers to the isekai genre, having handled the scripts for Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World.

A brief trailer revealed to audiences at the panel showed the very stylized 2D visuals for the anime, with Harley and Joker rampaging through the streets of Gotham, wreaking bloody havoc, before cutting to a fantasy world with huge dragons and giant pig mutants. In other worlds, this is definitely an isekai. What’s more, Osada, who hit the stage dressed as Katana, said that they got “the express permission from DC to have the characters use magic.”

And yes, Harley and Joker will lead the show. Osada made it a point to highlight that their version of Joker will be different. “Everybody has their favorite version of Joker,” Osada said. “We ultimately decided to not copy any particular iteration and have something completely unique.”

From more from Anime Expo, check out what was revealed about Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, as well as the new trailer for the final episode of Attack on Titan.