Batman: The Caped Crusader Series Will Return Batman to His Noir Roots

Batman is back yet again in a new form. The Caped Crusader has seen plenty of takes recently, including Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman, but now he’s getting another animated series, Batman: The Caped Crusader. This one has a lot of prestige tied to it with Reeves, J.J. Abrams, and longtime DC Animated Universe alum Bruce Timm all involved. The show does not appear to be tied in with Reeves’ film or the spin-off HBO Max series but instead will be a “reimagining of the Batman mythology.” Yes, another one. The series has received a straight-to-series order from HBO Max and Cartoon Network, meaning there won’t be a pilot episode and it sounds like it will run on both platforms.

“We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City,” said Abrams and Reeves in a statement about Batman: The Caped Crusader. “The series will be thrilling, cinematic, and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world.”

Abrams and Reeves might be the big names, but for fans of DC animated work, the real news is Timm’s involvement. The man has been involved with the incredibly successful DC Animated Universe since he helped establish it with the groundbreaking and much-loved Batman: The Animated Series. If the Batman: The Caped Crusader poster (below) is any indication, this new cartoon will land neatly in the noir aesthetic that dominated that show and possibly go even further, as it will be far less hindered by being considered children’s fare thanks to animation’s current adult renaissance. The show is said to feature “sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters, and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world.”

The style is obviously reminiscent of early Batman comics and Bob Kane’s long-eared design mixed with the angular animations of the DC Animated Universe. Obviously, we can’t tell what the show will look like in motion, but the series is said to feature “state-of-the-art animation techniques and technologies.”