The animated versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the DC Universe may have a new home at Amazon. While at Content London, Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman Channing Dungey talked about the studio's future animation plans.
At Content London, Dungey talked about how Warner Bros. Discovery is looking at putting their animation on different streaming services besides just HBO Max, according to a report from Deadline. "With animation, we used to be about staying in-house, but now we are doing it on different platforms," said Dungey. "HBO Max is the first stop, but we are in the process of closing a big deal with Amazon featuring DC branded content in animation." HBO Max has been the streaming home of new episodes of Young Justice and Harley Quinn, which the service inherited from the DC Universe streaming service.
Warner Bros. Discovery has made multiple cuts in animation on HBO Max after the merging of the two companies. In August, it was reported that Young Justice had been canceled after its fourth season. That same month, it was reported that the upcoming animated series Batman: Caped Crusader would not be moving forward at HBO Max. However, the series is being shopped to other streaming services including Apple TV+, Netflix, and Hulu. Batman: Caped Crusader is executive produced by Batman: The Animated Series producer Bruce Timm, The Batman director Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams. Another Batman-based project, Merry Little Batman, was also scrapped from the service. In August, the three-episode limited series Aquaman: King of Atlantis was also removed from HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery has also made animation cuts outside of the DC Universe. On the same day that the live-action Batgirl movie was canceled, the studio also announced that it had canceled Scoob!: Holiday Haunt. The film was a prequel to 2020's Scoob! and was planned to be released on HBO Max. Despite the film's cancelation in August, production still continued and the movie was finished in early November. Warner Bros. Discovery also canceled the HBO Max releases of 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 (based on the sitcom Family Matters), and The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie. Just like Aquaman: King of Atlantis, the critically acclaimed series Infinity Train was removed from HBO Max, with series creator Owen Dennis writing on his blog that the decision was a "direct order from Discovery, and it's about saving money somehow."
While the future of DC animation remains to be seen, their classic animated series like Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited are currently available to stream on HBO Max. Stay tuned at Collider for future news on DC's streaming home and more. The classic opening of Batman: The Animated Series can be watched below: