WB's video game answer to Smash Bros. puts Batman up against Arya Stark and Scooby-Doo

If Cloud Strife can square off against Link in Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, then why can’t other franchises fight for a mixed-up piece of the beat-‘em-up pie? That’s the question that Warner Bros. Games is poised to answer with its first look at MetaVersus, a bonkers-looking free-to-play brawler that ropes in characters from every corner of its extensive entertainment universe.

When we say every corner, we really mean every conceivable corner. Set to release next year for consoles and PC, MetaVersus puts out the casting call far and wide to align the stars of a ridiculously long list of Warner Bros. franchises including DC, Looney Tunes, Steven Universe, Scooby-Doo, and even Game of Thrones. That’s right: If you want to enter the fray grasping a dagger as Arya Stark, you’re about to get your chance — and she’s even voiced by original GoT actor Maisie Williams.

Basically, it's Space Jam: A New Legacy: The Fighting Game.

Check it out:

Smashing, right? Game director Tony Huynh serves up a description for MultiVersus that sounds a whole lot like a parallel-universe rundown of Smash Bros., even teasing that the fighting roster we’ll get at launch will grow — just like Nintendo’s franchise — as the game’s player base and ecosystem take root.

“About two years ago, we had a question: Can we create a platform fighter that embodies everything we love about the genre, remove the pain points, and brings in some new ideas?” says Huynh, the co-founder of developer Player First Games. “MultiVersus emphasizes teamwork and social play with an ever-expanding, diverse cast of characters that you know and love. This is our take on the competitive platform fighter.”

Warner Bros. and Player First are definitely entering the arena at full tilt, recruiting some familiar industry names to give the game its own unique look and feel. Via IGN, Harley Quinn shows up here voiced by Tara Strong (who’s got a lengthy résumé of voicing Harley in animated form), alongside Scooby-Doo movie veteran Matthew Lillard as Shaggy — because in this game, of course, even a groovy, peace-lovin’ guy like Shaggy needs to know how to throw hands.

The rest of the launch lineup gets even more bananas, with Adventure Time’s Jake the Dog (voiced by John DiMaggio) squaring off alongside Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, Batman, Superman, and tons more. True to the fighting game genre, each character will load out with their own unique slate of special moves and abilities, as well as emotes, skins, and obtainable perks.

Best of all, of course, is the low price of a ringside seat. MultiVersus will be a free-to-play game when it launches sometime next year, so now’s the time to hit the gym — before things in Warner Bros.’ extended universe start to get seriously mixed up.