DC Announces Absolute Batman Animated Show (With the Perfect Showrunner)

June 25, 2026, 8:33am

Incredible news for Batman fans has just dropped out of Annecy International Animation Film Festival. With Warner Bros Animation and DC Studios revealing updates for the upcoming slate of shows and movies, including Mr Miracle and My Adventures with Green Lantern, they’ve also revealed new shows, including the announcement of an Absolute Batman animated series. And even better, Scott Snyder is serving as showrunner.

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After selling more than 6 million copies, Absolute Batman – created by Snyder and illustrated by the genius Nick Dragotta and launched in October 2024 – has a huge following, meaning the kind of ready-made audience major studios can usually only dream of. The announcement at Annecy was met with an inevitably raucous reception, as Snyder and Dragotta were also announced as playing major parts in the series, with Snyder showrunning and Dragotta producing. Attendees were shown first-look images of the upcoming animated series, and the title screen was revealed online, along with the official synopsis: “Absolute Batman boldly reinvents the Batman mythos for a new generation of fans, reimagining the Dark Knight as a working-class hero up against impossible odds (and the most terrifying foes ever), on a mission to prove that even in an era of wealth, power and corruption, one good person can change the world.”

Absolute Batman Can Fill a Major Hole for Batman Fans

Back in the heyday of DC animated series, Batman: The Animated Series was untouchable as the pinnacle of what was possible in the genre. It might have been aimed at a broad audience, but it never played down to kids and stayed true to the spirit of Batman in the comics at the time. It was dark, gritty at times, and hugely entertaining, and its imprint on superhero culture cannot be overlooked. Arguably, the best shows starring Batman to come after its retirement were legacy show Batman Beyond (which again stayed true to those same virtues) and the excellent, overlooked classic The Batman, which was weirder by a factor of about 60%. More recently, we’ve had Batman: Caped Crusader from Prime, which is genuinely an excellent, more adult-focused animation, and it proved the appetite from DC fans for more of the same.

Now, Absolute Batman can deliver on that front even more. The comics are drenched in the kind of material that kids shows simply cannot embrace, and this version of Batman as a brutal battering ram, fighting Gotham’s monsters is way more suited to a more grown-up show. Some might complain that we’re not getting a live-action Elseworlds adaptation, but there’s no reason that can’t also happen: right now, we already have two live-action Batman continuities in play, and another would just cause a brand headache. This way, we get a darker, uber-violent animated show (which will probably sit closer to Invincible than Caped Crusader) that can truly honor Dragotta’s instantly iconic artwork along with Snyder’s creative swagger. This might well be the most exciting project the DCU has announced in some time.

It is, genuinely, an excellent time to be a Batman fan: 2026 sees the release of Caped Crusader Season 2, live-action DCU spinoff Clayface, the first part of the animated Batman: Knightfall quadrilogy, and a lot more information on Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II. Then there’s stop-motion Elseworlds project Dynamic Duo – which has its own Absolute Batman-riffing Dark Knight – and both Absolute Batman and newly announced anime Joker: Laugh Riot. And that’s without even mentioning the other live-action Batman movie – The Brave and the Bold – which will surely start feeling more tangible into next year. As the Absolute Batman comic run has proven, there is enthusiasm for different types of Batman at the same time, and it’s only going to get better from here.