Warner Bros has been engaged in making multiple changes ever since its merger with Discovery. The studio canceled its several movies and shows, and the CEO David Zasley came up with the new 10 years plan for the DCEU. Joining the list of the canceled movies and shows is the WB’s animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader.
The studio also postponed the release of its upcoming movies Shazam: The Fury of the Gods and Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom to March 2023 and December 2023, respectively.
WBD also held a funeral screening for its canceled movie, The Batgirl. For some, the screening underscored sore feelings, and some even agreed with Zaslav’s decision to scrap the movie.
WB Scraps Batman: Caped Crusader From HBO Max
Following the cancellation of its films, WBD recently announced that it would cancel the animated series of Batman, Batman: Caped Crusader, from its HBO Max lineup.
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision Newsletter, the other streaming services are going after the show in hopes of getting the show.
With WB scratching Batman: Caped Crusader from its HBO Max lineup, major streaming platforms including, Netflix, Apple TV+, and Hulu are trying their best to get a hold of the show.
Why Streaming Services Want Batman: Caped Crusader
However, Batman: Caped Crusader is not the only show being canceled but is surely the one that fans are interested in. The co-creator of the original Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Timm is creating Batman: Caped Crusader. He is planning to give the show a little more adult tone than the 1992 animated series.
It is not a surprise that streaming services are looking for an opportunity to get their hands on the series, as it involves many talented individuals under its production team.
It would follow the earlier days of a crime-fighting career. The creator has said that it would not be a follow-up to the 1992 animated series but, he will try to make it as close as possible to the follow-up with modern tools for the creation of this show.
J.J. Abrams, James Tucker, and Matt Reeves Join Production
J.J. Abrams, James Tucker, and the director of The Batman, Matt Reeves are also joining Bruce Timm in the production as executive producers. Comic writer Ed Brubaker will be the head of writing duties for Batman: Caped Crusader.
Timm, Abrams, and Reeves said in a statement on the announcement of the series, ” We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City.”
They also sod that the series will be thrilling, cinematic, and evocative of Batman’s Noor roots, and will dive deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters.
WB’s Future Plans With its Animated Shows and Movies
Not just Batman: Caped Crusader, WB canceled several animated shows including, Marry Little Batman, The Day The Earth blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical, Did I Do That to the Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story, and The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie. All these movies and shows are in various stages of production.
Considering that the production of these projects has started, the studio is not scraping them directly. These shows will not be available for streaming on HBO Max.
WB has been facing some financial crises for the past some time and is planning to come over it by selling some of its shows to other streaming platforms rather than streaming them on its own streaming platform, HBO Max.
This is why the studio decided to sell Batman: Caped Crusader along with other animated movies once they are completed, to other streaming platforms.
Warner Bros launched HBO Max in May 2020 as its subscription video-on-demand service. It was built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros, and other related brands to them. Earlier, WB used to sell its shows to other channels.
With all these updates and with streaming platforms lining up for the animated series, the future for this WB series seems brighter. WB would not have trouble finding potential buyers for its series. Batman: Caped Crusader is still under production and no details about its release are not available yet.
Source: Twitter
