Warner Bros. Discovery is spreading the love a bit more as it seems happy to allow its DC properties to live on multiple streaming platforms instead of just HBO Max. The media company is extending its partnership between Warner Bros. Animation and Amazon with an animated film called Merry Little Batman and a spinoff animated series called Bat-Family, per THR. The shows appear to be starkly different from their already-in-progress and decidedly serious Batman: Caped Crusader, which is now officially confirmed to be coming to Amazon as well.
Batman: Caped Crusader — which comes from Matt Reeves, J.J. Abrams, and Bruce Timm — was one of those surprise HBO Max cancellations during the culling when WB Discovery’s new CEO took over, but given its pedigree and the fan fervor over it, the series was reportedly quickly scooped up by Amazon. Today brings official confirmation of that along with the surprise announcement of the other two series.
“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 at 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.”
WB Discovery does not seem too concerned about diluting the Batman brand by hosting shows on another streamer or by having a wide variety of Batman content. While Batman: Caped Crusader is said to be a darker, noir Batman spin, Merry Little Batman and Bat-Family are the exact opposite of that. The film is a holiday special that’s being described as a family action/comedy in which a young Damian Wayne must become Little Batman in order to defend Wayne Manor, Gotham, and the holidays themselves from Batman’s rouges’ gallery. From there, Bat-Family will pick up the storyline as Damian Wayne, with the support of Alfred, fights crime as Little Batman, and they “navigate the fun and frustrations of life as a super family.”
Looking at the image above, it’s pretty clear this is a Teen Titans Go!-style riff on the Wayne family, and that’s backed up by the fact that the screenplay for the film is by Morgan Evans of that very series/film.
