Final Fantasy designer Tetsuya Nomura reimagines the Joker

Square Enix’s famed character designer Tetsuya Nomura, best known for his work on Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, has reimagined Batman archenemy the Joker. Nomura’s unique take on the Clown Prince of Crime is part of Square Enix’s DC Universe Variant Play Arts Kai line and will be released this fall.

Nomura’s interpretation of the Joker is in keeping with his redesign of Batman and Catwoman for the DC Universe Variant Play Arts Kai series. It’s an extreme reimagining of the character, mostly thanks to the Joker’s exoskeleton-wheelchair accessory.

It appears Nomura had a wide range of ideas in mind for the Joker. As such, the figure includes no less than seven interchangeable head options, including a fairly traditional Joker face, one that seems ripped from a Final Fantasy game and another that looks frighteningly demonic.

There’s another where Nomura’s Joker appears heavily masked.

Square Enix

There are other headwear options as well, including a red hood and an ornate harlequin mask. Check out those options in the gallery below.

Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai the Joker by Tetsuya Nomura will ship in Japan this September. The figure is listed at 32,184 yen on retailers like Amazon Japan and AmiAmi, which works out to about $290. When Square Enix brought Nomura’s Batman and Catwoman to North America as part of its Play Arts Kai line, they carried price tags of $249.99 and $149.99, respectively.