J.J. Abrams-Produced “Batman Caped Crusader” Animated Series No Longer Going Forward At HBO Max

The animated Batman revival Caped Crusader is no longer a go at HBO Max and is one of the animated projects being shown the door as Warner Bros. Discovery continues to clean house.

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TVLine, who was the first site to cover this update, reported Batman: Caped Crusader is “no longer being produced for HBO Max” despite receiving a series order from the streaming outlet and Cartoon Network.

The good news is, if you were looking forward to this one, it is still being made by Warner Bros. Animation and will have another chance to find a new streaming home or network.

Source: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016), Warner Bros. Entertainment

TVLine also notes this development comes whilst several programs are either being canceled or removed from the Max. Several episodes of Sesame Street are gone and Warner Bros. also nixed two holiday specials, one starring Batman and another with 90s pop culture icon Steve Urkel called “Did I Do That To The Holidays.”

It isn’t just animated projects on the chopping block but they are being particularly walloped. There won’t be a fifth season of Young Justice, for instance, and Warner said no to Scoob’s Holiday Haunt mid-production mere weeks ago.

Source: Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Warner Bros.

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And this little movie called Batgirl you may have heard of also got shelved. Explanations and theories of why are rampant but the official story is there was a tax window to take advantage of and something was wrong with the quality.

Caped Crusader is intended as a reinvention of the Batman animated-verse for the Matt Reeves era and, as such, is produced by Reeves and his frequent collaborator JJ Abrams. Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm and Ed Brubaker are also on board as executive producers.

Source: Batman — Caped Crusader proof of concept short

“Utilizing state-of-the-art animation techniques and technologies available, this powerful creative partnership will once again reinvent Batman and his iconic rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world,’” says a press release from WarnerMedia from back in 2021 when the series was initially announced.

It was said to be a prequel to Batman TAS of sorts which Timm touted as being more modern and inclusive at DC FanDome last year. Many, naturally, took that to mean the series would be woke.

That said, Abrams still has a first-look contract with Warner and, though he is sitting on a handful of IPs, his Justice League Dark and Constantine projects remain in development as of this writing.

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