Ethan Hawke is Batman in a new clip from the upcoming animated series Batwheels, as he races against the Joker on the rain-slicked, CG streets of Gotham City. Fittingly for the vehicular nature of the series, it displays the abilities of both the Batmobile and the Joker's gaudily-decorated van.

In this preschool-aimed series, the first from DC, Batman is assisted in his never-ending crusade against crime by a squad of sentient, super-powered vehicles, the titular Batwheels. They include the Bam, the Batmobile (Jacob Bertrand), Bibi, the Batgirl Cycle (Madigan Kacmar), Redbird, Robin's Sports Car (Jordan Reed), Batwing, the Jet Plane (Lilimar), and Buff, the Bat Truck (Noah Bentley). Newly granted sentience by the Batcomputer (Kimberly D. Brooks), the child-like Batwheels will learn about the world around them as well as the ins and outs of fighting super villains starting this fall, under the Cartoonito brand streaming on HBO Max and broadcast on Cartoon Network.

Ethan Hawke has been ubiquitous lately, turning up in the sleeper horror hit The Black Phone, in the critically-acclaimed The Northman, and in Marvel's Moon Knight. He is a newcomer to the world of animation, with only a single guest voice on an episode of Robot Chicken to his name. He can be seen later this year opposite Ewan McGregor in the Rodrigo García-directed Raymond and Ray, and as part of Rian Johnson's all-star cast in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

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In addition to Batman, the series also will also feature the human heroes and villains of Gotham City, including Catwoman (Gina Rodriguez), the Joker (Mick Wingert), Robin/Duke Thomas (AJ Hudson), Batgirl/Cassandra Cain (Leah Lewis), Snowy (Xolo Maridueña), Prank (Griffin Burns), Jetstah (Alexandra Novelle), Quizz (Josey Montana McCoy), Ducky (Ariyan Kassam), the Riddler (SungWon Cho), Crash (Tom Kenny), Harley Quinn (Chandni Parekh), the Penguin (Jess Harnell), Mr. Freeze (Jess Harnell), and Toyman (James Arnold Taylor). Producing the series are a number of animation veterans, including executive producer Sam Register, co-executive producer Michael G. Stern, supervising producer Simon J. Smith, and producer Steven Fink. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and animation services are provided by Superprod Studios.

It will be interesting to see Hawke's turn as the infamous caped crusader when Batwheels premieres Batman Day, September 17th, with the half-hour special "Secret Origin of the Batwheels" on Cartoonito on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.