HBO Max has cancelled six upcoming animated series, including Batman: Caped Crusader. With Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves set to executive produce, the project was granted permission to make it into a series in May 2021.
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 are the other projects that are cancelled. All six shows are still in production, and there are plans to distribute them on platforms other than HBO Max. With the exception of The Amazing World of Gumball, which is being made by H-B Studios Europe, all of these films were produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
The goal of Batman: Caped Crusader was to expand upon Batman: The Animated Series, which Timm had co-created and its 85 episodes aired on Fox Kids from 1992 to 1995. With HBO cancelling his science fiction drama Demimonde in June, this is the second project by J.J. Abrams that Warner Bros. Discovery has recently decided not to pursue.
These projects are merely the most recent victims of HBO Max’s ongoing strategic change, which has recently resulted in a number of animation projects being cancelled, removed from the streaming service, or otherwise abandoned.
Earlier this month HBO Max cancelled the animated series Little Ellen.
