Back in 2021, it was announced that a new animated Batman show was coming, titled Batman: Caped Crusader – intended as a sort of spiritual sequel to the legendary ‘90s Batman: The Animated Series, with that show’s creator Bruce Timm returning. Not only that, but it had JJ Abrams and Matt Reeves on board as executive producers, Ed Brubaker on the creative team, and got an instant 10-episode series order. It sounded like every Batman fan’s dream – except, in August last year, the series was axed at HBO Max amid a bout of Warner Bros. Discovery cost-cutting. Good news: it’s taken a while, but the show finally has a new home.
Now, Amazon has picked up Caped Crusader for a two-season order on its Prime Video streaming service – though, according to THR, formal deals are yet to be signed. In recent years, Amazon has ploughed further into comic book-inspired adult animated fare – from the uncompromising Invincible, to The Boys animated spin-off Diabolical, so while it’s surprising to see a property as huge as Batman end up somewhere other than a Warner Bros outlet, it seems a sensible home for the show. Since the series was first announced, James Gunn and Peter Safran were brought over to shepherd DC – and Caped Crusader won’t be part of their DCU ‘Gods And Monsters’ plan, but operate more like Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II and Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie À Deux as non-canonical ‘Elseworlds’ stories.
On announcement, Abrams and Reeves described the show as “thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters” – and those who grew up on The Animated Series will likely be counting down the days until it finally starts streaming. As for who will voice Batman – in the wake of the legendary Kevin Conroy passing away last year – that remains to be seen.