David Farnor | On 12, Mar 2023

Batman: Caped Crusader has found a new home, after being scrapped by HBO Max, with Amazon Prime Video reportedly stepping in to pick up the animated series.

Produced by Warner Bros Animation, Bad Robot Productions and 6th & Idaho, with exec-producers including Bruce Timm, JJ Abrams and Matt Reeves, it promised to “once again reinvent Batman and his familiar rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world”.

Those plans, though, came to a cruel halt in August last year, when HBO and Warners’ parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, embarked on a controversial and ruthless cost-cutting strategy. DC Studios has since hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to serve as its studio bosses to try and bring a strategy to DC’s screen universe. While the plug has been pulled on some projects altogether – such as the film Batgirl and Abrams’ plans for a Justice League Dark franchise – and some stars such as Superman actor Henry Cavill have parted ways, other remnants still remain outside of the new DC Studios plan, including Reeves’ The Batman: Part II and HBO Max series The Penguin.

Batman: Caped Crusader, however, has now found a second lease of life, with Warner Bros Discovery selling off the project to monetise its assets. Amazon has given a two-season order to the animated series. It joins a roster of adult animation that leans partly into the superhero genre, including Robert Kirkman’s Invincible and The Boys Presents: Diabolical.

 

HBO Max and Cartoon Network team up with Batman and Superman animated shows

22nd May 2021

HBO Max and Cartoon Network are teaming up for a duo of superhero series.

The broadcasters have greenlit a straight to series order for Batman: Caped Crusader, an all-new animated series and reimagining of the Batman mythology. Executive producers on the project not only include Bruce Timm and JJ Abrams but also Matt Reeves of the latest big screen incarnation of Batman.

Produced by Warner Bros Animation, Bad Robot Productions and 6th & Idaho, Batman: Caped Crusader represents Timm’s return to the iconic DC character in animated episodic TV, which began with Batman: The Animated Series. Now, nearly 30 years since that definitive series premiered, Timm once again takes on the mantle of the Bat. Using state-of-the-art animation techniques and technologies available, the team hope to once again reinvent Batman and his familiar rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world.

The news was announced this week by Tom Ascheim, President, Warner Bros Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC) and Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS).

Tom Ascheim said: “It is always fun to feed the insatiable appetite fans have for all things Batman. Batman: Caped Crusader will entertain first time and die-hard fans alike and, with such an impressive creative team in place, we know we have another future Batman classic in the making.”

Timm, Abrams and Reeves said: “We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City. The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world.”

HBO Max and Cartoon Network have also ordered two seasons of My Adventures with Superman an all-new kids and family animated series following the action-packed, comedic and romantic adventures of Superman and Lois Lane.

Produced by Warner Bros Animation, My Adventures with Superman catches up with twenty-somethings Clark Kent, the bright and driven Lois Lane, and their best friend Jimmy Olsen as they begin to discover who they are and everything they can accomplish together as an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet.

The serialised coming-of-age story follows Clark as he builds his secret Superman identity and embraces his role as the hero of Metropolis – and perhaps the world. Lois, now growing into a star investigative journalist, takes aspiring photographer Jimmy Olsen under her wing. All the while, Clark and Lois are falling in love, sharing adventures, taking down bad guys, stumbling over secrets, and discovering what it means to be Superman and Lois Lane. Jack Quaid (The Boys) and Alice Lee (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) lead the voice cast as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively.

My Adventures with Superman is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) serves as executive producer. Jake Wyatt (Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus) and Brendan Clogher (Voltron: Legendary Defender) are on board as co-executive producers and Josie Campbell (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) as co-producer.

The news was announced by Amy Friedman, Head of Kids & Family Programming, Warner Bros.

“Superman has remained one of the most iconic and beloved Super Heroes in the world,” said Amy Friedman, Head of Kids & Family Programming, Warner Bros. “This fresh take from the Warner Bros. Animation team delivers a modern, relatable Clark Kent alongside a fearless, whip smart Lois Lane who are navigating the small tasks of both becoming adults and trying to save the world.”

“It’s been a great partnership working with Cartoon Network and HBO Max to bring more DC Super Heroes to the platform in new and creatively interesting ways,” added Register. “This is the first animated Superman series in many years and we want to tell our Superman story through the trio of Clark, Lois and Jimmy – whose relationship dynamic will allow for rich, serialized and engaging stories as we explore their lives as individuals and their journey together as friends.”

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