Batman: Caped Crusader Was Almost a New Justice League Series

Bruce Timm reveals the early pitches for the DC animated series.

By Jenna Anderson

This week brought the debut of Batman: Caped Crusader, a brand-new animated series that expands upon various parts of the DC mythos. The series is brought to life by a number of major names in geek media, including J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm — and apparently, it almost took a completely different shape. In a recent interview with The Wrap, Timm revealed new insight on how Caped Crusader became a reality, revealing that it began first as an actual continuation of Batman: The Animated Series, before he and producer James Tucker floated the idea of doing a new Justice League show.

"That was more of an open-ended concept that we could incorporate the entire DC canon in it, instead of doing just another Joker story, or just another Harley story or whatever," Timm said, revealing that the concept ultimately kept going back to Batman, and the question of, "Well, if you didn't want to do another B:TAS straight up, wasn't there some things that you didn't get to do back in the day that you would have liked to have done?" 

Is Batman: Caped Crusader Renewed for Season 2?

It was already confirmed that Caped Crusader has earned a two-season order from Prime Video, after moving to the platform following a cancellation from Max. Season 2 does not have a confirmed release date.

"Batman: The Animated Series helped pioneer in the evolution of superhero storytelling and defined the Dark Knight for a generation," said Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon and MGM Studios. "Batman: Caped Crusader will no doubt continue that tradition and, alongside Merry Little Batman and Bat-Family, we're thrilled to collaborate with Warner Bros. Animation to offer a variety of takes of the Batman mythos to our global Prime Video customers."

What Is Batman: Caped Crusader About? 

In Batman: Caped Crusader, welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne (Hamish Linklater) becomes something both more and less than human—the BATMAN. His one-man crusade for justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications. The cast of Batman: Caped Crusader also includes Christina Ricci, Jamie Chung, Diedrich Bader, Minnie Driver, Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Mckenna Grace, Jason Watkins, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, and Haley Joel Osment.

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The series is a reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens of executive producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves and Bruce Timm. Based on DC characters, Batman: Caped Crusader hails from Warner Bros. Animation, Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Reeves' 6th & Idaho. Along with Abrams, Reeves and Timm, Batman: Caped Crusader executive producers include Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich, and Sam Register.

The first season of Batman: Caped Crusader is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video. Season 2 is confirmed, and will debut on the platform at a later date.

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