Caped Crusader’ No Longer Premiering on HBO Max

Yet another highly anticipated HBO Max program based on a DC Comics property is not moving forward. A few weeks after it was revealed that the already-shot Batgirl film would never see the light of day, the next Batman animated series has just been handed a similar fate.

Titled Batman: Caped Crusader when it was announced back in May of 2021, it was described as a kind of spiritual continuation to the ’90s Batman: The Animated Series and a “reimagining of the Batman mythology.” The show was produced by an impressive creative team, including J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, Ed Brubaker, and Batman: The Animated Series alum Bruce Timm.

Despite all those names, and a seemingly surefire subject matter and style, HBO Max has decided not to air the show, which has been in production for well over a year. Per Variety, it’s one of a number of animated projects that HBO Max had ordered but now is not going to stream; the others include a Batman Christmas special called Merry Little Batman and several different Looney Tunes movies and projects.

Variety says the moves are “part of a larger trend as parent company Warner Bros. Discovery largely divests from kids and family content.” Last week, some 200 episodes of Sesame Street were taken off HBO Max, in a similar move. An HBO Max spokesperson recently said that “live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future.”

While the shows will not find a home on HBO Max, none have been outright canceled at the moment. Production is reportedly continuing while Warner Bros. will “shop them” to other potential distributors. Batman: Caped Crusader seemed like a particularly exciting project; it seems like someone should want to stream or air it somewhere.