Posted in: HBO, streaming, TV | Tagged: Amazing World Of Gumball, Batman, HBO, hbo max, looney tunes

HBO Max Cuts Batman: Caped Crusader, Looney Tunes Movies & More

Published Mon, 22 Aug 2022 19:40:11 -0500

Batman: Caped Crusader, 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 no longer have homes at HBO Max, with TVLine reporting that they will continue production with the hope of being shopped to new homes. The move is yet another move by Warner Bros. Discovery as they look to cut costs to make Wall Street smile ahead of next year's streaming merger between HBO Max and Discovery+.

Back in May 2021, animation fans learned that Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves (The Batman) were teaming with HBO Max and Cartoon Network to expand Batman's animated universe with the new series Batman: Caped Crusader. Executive produced by showrunner Timm, as well as Abrams and Reeves, co-executive produced by James Tucker, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), Bad Robot Productions, and 6th & Idaho, the series is a reimagining of The Dark Knight's mythology- and marks Timm's return to Batman in animated series form (because who can forget his Emmy Award-winning run with Batman: The Animated Series?). In January of this year, we learned that comics author Ed Brubaker (Catwoman, Gotham Central, Captain America) had joined the creative team as head writer & executive producer, and was reportedly running the writers' room with Timm and acting "as Timm's right hand."

"Here's something few people know, but the original Batman: The Animated Series was one of the things that made me want to write superhero comics in general, and Batman in particular," said Brubaker in a statement to THR at the time his coming aboard the series was announced. "If not for what Bruce Timm and all the talented writers and artists did with that show, things like my revamp of Catwoman with Darwyn Cooke (who worked on BTAS) and Gotham Central with Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, would never have happened. So when Bruce Timm offered me the chance to come work on this new reimagining of Batman with him, James Tucker, J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, I jumped at it. Their vision for the show, with a slightly more pulpy take on the character, and a new way of looking at the world of Gotham, set in the past but viewed through a modern lens really sold me, and so far every part of it has been a blast to work on. I can't wait until the rest of the world can see what we've been building the last few months in the writers room. All I can say is, it's not what anyone is expecting … but in a good way."

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