HBO Max continues the animation purge begun following the costly Warner Discovery merger, which added a number of current animated series to the chopping block last week. Now, a half dozen episodic and feature length titles announced in the works have been removed from the slate — although it is reported that all six of the titles are continuing production while Warner Bros. Animation shops them to other outlets.
Among the sacrifices are Batman: Caped Crusader, the buzzy reboot series from Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm, blockbuster maker J.J. Abrams and The Batman director Matt Reeves, announced in May. The studio has also opted out of several of the movies and specials slated for its ACME Night block on HBO Max and Cartoon Network back in September:
- Merry Little Batman – Family action-comedy special executive produced and directed by Mike Roth (Regular Show) from a screenplay by Morgan Evans (Earth to Ned).
- The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – Porky and Daffy’s sci-fi buddy comedy, executive produced by Pete Browngardt (Looney Tunes Cartoons) with Alex Kirwan (Looney Tunes Cartoons) as supervising producer and Kevin Costello as writer.
- Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story – An animated movie musical return for the iconic sitcom character, written and exec produced by Wyatt Cenac with Bryan Newton (Rick and Morty) as supervising director.
- The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie! – A feature-length adventure from Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, in which a superfan opens a portal to Gumball’s cartoon world. Directed by series creator Ben Bocquelet from a script written with Shane Mack (Coffee & Kareem), exec produced by Sam Register, Vanessa Brookman and Sarah Fell.
- Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical – Meant to be the first-ever LT musical, announced in June. Screenplay and lyrics by Ariel Dumas (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), music and orchestration by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), with Brandon Jeffords (Vivo, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) as director and supervising producer and Sam Register serves as EP.
Here’s hoping these colorful characters find a new home soon!
[Source: TV Line]
