Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Bye-bye, Batman: Caped Crusader. Animated series is no longer on HBO Max

By Blair Marnell Updated August 23, 2022

The new leadership team at Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t exactly endearing itself to DC fans. Weeks after the Batgirl movie was unceremoniously canceled for a tax break, the highly anticipated animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader, has also been dropped by HBO Max. The one bit of good news is that Caped Crusader isn’t canceled, and it is being shopped to other streaming services. But WBD CEO David Zaslav and company are essentially handing a new show with DC’s flagship hero to one of HBO Max’s competitors.

Via Variety, the most disconcerting aspect about this is that Warner Bros. has no bigger superhero brand than Batman himself. Caped Crusader also marks the return of Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm to the character he reinvigorated in the ’90s. Batman and Catwoman comic book scribe Ed Brubaker is on board to write for the series, which is executive produced by Timm, The Batman‘s Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams. This show is also reportedly a more mature take on the title hero than previous cartoons. It will almost certainly find a new home soon.

Early art for Batman: Caped Crusader.

Zaslav and Warner Bros. Discovery appear to have no faith in their animated projects. Several HBO Max original cartoons were recently dropped, even those with unreleased upcoming seasons. In the latest round of cuts, the casualties include Merry 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. Much like Caped Crusader, Warner Bros. is allowing these projects to be shopped around. They just won’t have a home on HBO Max itself.

As for Reeves, Deadline reports that he has signed a new overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. Presumably this means The Batman‘s Penguin HBO Max spinoff is safe. But with the current WBD regime, no one can say that with 100% certainty.

Topics

Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…

Entertainment

Batman’s live-action future should be on HBO, not on the big screen

Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight in red promo art for The Batman.

Matt Reeves' recent Dark Knight venture is the third major live-action rendition of the character in the last 10 years, and while it seems like a lot to already be thinking about what comes after The Batman movies, Warner Bros. Discovery and DC could do well to look to TV for the next take's future.

That might be asking a lot, especially considering the company's chaotic merger laying waste to a slew of streaming projects and DC's reputation for its use of Batman -- and lack thereof -- in the live-action TV space. However, while The Batman is an exciting fresh start for a detective-focused, neo-noir Gotham City, a shakeup in the medium of choice could give the next long-term reboot a new and tantalizing creative angle through the HBO brand.
A change of pace from the theatrical format

Entertainment

Batman: Caped Crusader can recapture the spirit of the DC Animated Universe

Batman holding his cape under the moonlight in Caped Crusader key art.

Though it comes at an awkward and worrisome time for HBO Max, the J. J. Abrams, Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and Ed Brubaker-helmed Batman: Caped Crusader animated series still has the potential to rekindle the classic days of the DC Animated Universe. Earlier this week, it was announced that Caped Crusader will no longer be moving forward at HBO Max following Warner Bros. Discovery's merger and its new brass going scorched earth on many original projects.

The silver lining, however, is that the show itself hasn't been canceled and will continue production as usual while the animated series is shopped out to other prospective outlets/streamers. Hopefully, that fine print proves to be the series' saving grace since the talent attached to the project could breathe life into a new world that echoes the same "dark deco" aesthetic and atmosphere of The Animated Series.
Serialized Batman adventures

Audio / Video

Does HBO Max think you’re dumb?

hbo max discount while content cut 1

You can't swing a dead cat in the entertainment space these days without running into a headline about how the newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery — which owns HBO Max — has canceled a show that was in the planning stages. Or already was in production. Or had finished production but now will never see the light of day. Or canceled any future episodes or seasons of a strong show. Or left another in limbo. Or killed a weekly news show that was more important than not. Or unceremoniously removed hundreds of episodes from literally the most important children's series in the history of television.

Fine. That's business. The newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly is trying to shave a mere $3 billion off the balance sheet, and cuts of content and people were always going to happen.