The Dark Knight won't be stopped so easily.
While Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams' Batman: Caped Crusader won't be coming to HBO Max, the animated series is reportedly very much alive and drawing interest from Apple, Hulu, Netflix, and more.
As reported by THR, Batman: Caped Crusader was one of six animated titled that was pulled from HBO Max's upcoming slate and will no longer be produced by the company. It was stated that these shows were not necessarily canceled, but instead would be shopped to other studios.
The other projects – Merry Little Batman, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Toons Movie, Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Toons Musical, Did I Do That to the Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story and The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie – are all in “various stages of production,” and the decision to not put them on HBO Max is “not a quality issue, but an economic and strategic issue.”
According to THR's sources, “it is believed that the various Warners divisions making the show and movies will make more money on the titles by selling them to other outlets than having them on Warners’ own streamer.”
Batman: Caped Crusader is definitely one of the most high-profile projects of the bunch, as it looks to be taking inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series.
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This shift is but another chapter in the fallout following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which has already seen Batgirl's cancellation, 36 shows removed from HBO Max, and over 200 episodes of Sesame Street taken down.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.