It was shocking enough when it was announced that the upcoming “Batgirl” film had been shelved, with many fearing this was a sign that not even the most popular Warner Bros. intellectual property was safe. Given today’s announcements, it seems this fear is tragically based in reality. “Batman: Caped Crusader” would have been the spiritual successor to arguably the greatest adaptation of the “Batman” comics in history, and would have united the series’ creator Bruce Timm with the director of the newest extremely successful live-action Bat-film, Matt Reeves. It seems like a no-brainer to want a series like this to exist on HBO Max alongside the other Bat-projects, but apparently, that makes too much common sense to be seen as a solid business plan.
More alarming, however, is the cancellation of two separate “Looney Tunes” movies. Bugs Bunny is so synonymous with Warner Bros., he used to stand alongside the company logo in their family entertainment bumpers. Bugs Bunny is Warner Bros. Hell, Six Flags theme parks, who partner with Warner Bros. flood their parks with both Batman and Bugs Bunny iconography. To see both properties devalued by their own streaming platform is, well, looney.
