Posted in: HBO, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, cartoon network, dcu, hbo max, james gunn, young justice

Young Justice: Greg Weisman Clarifies Series' Season 5 Status

Greg Weisman addressed via Twitter if writing on Young Justice Season 5 was underway even without a green light for a new season.

Even as DC Studios' James Gunn & Peter Safran continue moving forward with the initial slate of new films & series for their vision of a new DCU, we've been getting answers on some projects that have had question marks floating around them for some time. One show whose fans are hoping gets a new season (either on HBO Max or somewhere else) is Greg Weisman & Brandon Vietti's Young Justice. Earlier today, Weisman was asked if – even though there's no new news on the animated series' status – writing on the fifth season was already underway, with production kicking off once an official green light is given. "Nothing has been done. No one starts before they get a green light. Who would pay for it?" Weisman responded, clarifying once again that no work can or would move forward without something official from someone.

Here's a look at Weisman's tweet from earlier today clarifying what's going on (or, more precisely, not going on) when it comes to a fifth season – here's a look (followed by a look back at our thoughts on how Young Justice could live on at a new home):

What Recent Moves Could Mean for "Young Justice"

When Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) head David Zaslav first entered the scene to kick off what would be a very volatile, rollercoaster-like first year running the company, there was something he said that (understandably) got lost in the mix of show cancellations, layoffs, and other cost-cutting measures. Basically, WBD was no longer in the business of creating content just for HBO Max or other in-house platforms. If a streaming service, cable network, or even broadcast network is interested and wants to deal, WBD is open for business.

The philosophy was put into action in February 2023 when we learned that HBO Max's Dead Boy Detectives (a spinoff of HBO's Doom Patrol, with comic book origins connected to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman) had found a new home at Netflix. Reportedly, the deal was given a green light by WBD after it was deemed not to have a fit with DC Studios' James Gunn & Peter Safran's vision for a new DCU. The following month, we learned that Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams & Matt Reeves's animated series Batman: Caped Crusader had found a new home on Amazon's Prime Video. And then, just last week, we learned that My Adventures with Superman would move from the streamer to help boost Adult Swim's extended programming hours (which kick in on May 1st).

Heading into the new year, Gunn made it clear that he was aware of the importance & influence of Young Justice. In a thread stemming from his tweet regarding Dwayne Johnson and his Black Adam film from December 2022, Gunn was asked if any animated DC series were an inspiration for the overall greater DCU blueprint, referencing Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice, specifically. Gunn didn't mince words with his response, offering a pretty definitive "Definitely":

If Weisman & Vietti's series isn't considered "new DCU enough" (though it's safe to say that there are a ton of arguments that could be made against that), it's hard to imagine another streaming service not being interested in picking up content that has so much upside to it. First, you have a connection to a DCU (even if it's not WBD and will most likely be very restricted in who can be used), and that's never a bad thing from a selling standpoint. Add to that not just a strong fanbase but a passionate one that doesn't hide its support for the series. So who could end up with the series?

Considering Disney's current financial woes and the question marks surrounding Hulu's future, I'm not sure how viable that would be. But then there's Amazon, which I'm leaning toward because of what the streamer's vision looks to be when it comes to superhero fare and animation. By bringing on Young Justice, Prime Video would grow its reputation for being the home of both Marvel (with its new Sony deal) and DC programming while also boosting the streamer's impressively growing slate of animated series. But whatever option would work best, here's hoping that as long as Weisman & Vietti want to continue telling more Young Justice tales, that they have the right streamer to house them.

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