DC Studios just announced three new upcoming TV shows set to hit streaming in the near-ish future, and while the whole lineup sounds interesting, one title immediately made fans lose their minds. Mine included.
The news came out of the World’s Finest Animation: DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation Showcase at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran and Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register helped lay out what is coming next for DC animation. Among the biggest reveals: Joker: Laugh Riot, Absolute Batman and a new untitled Krypto series are all on the way.
DC later shared the trio of logos on Instagram, which, honestly, makes for a pretty great visual summary of the announcement. Check out the post below:
Joker getting a series is not exactly shocking, since the Clown Prince of Crime has remained popular across comics, DC movies, TV and games for decades. Krypto getting an animated show also makes sense, especially with James Gunn’s Superman era putting the super-dog back in the conversation with the first chapter of his new DCEU. The super pooch was a standout in last year's Superman and is slated to appear in the 2026 calendar release, Supergirl. But Absolute Batman? That is the one that made me sit up.
I Am All-In On An Absolute Batman TV Show
For anyone who has not been following the comics, Absolute Batman is part of DC’s fairly new "Absolute" line, which reimagines major heroes with fresh mythology and altered foundations. This is not the traditional Bruce Wayne most casual fans know. It is not simply another version of the billionaire detective with a Batcave, a butler and enough money to turn trauma into a full-time urban warfare brand.
The official description puts it pretty bluntly: “No manor, no money... all Batman.” The animated series will reimagine the Dark Knight as a working-class hero fighting impossible odds, wealth, corruption and some seriously terrifying foes. Scott Snyder, who writes the comic, will serve as executive producer and showrunner, while artist Nick Dragotta is attached as a producer.
That is a major reason this feels like such a big deal. Absolute Batman is not some forgotten elseworlds idea pulled out of a longbox. It is new, hot and already a monster on the comics side. According to the press release, the series has sold more than 6 million copies, Absolute Batman #1 has reached an 11th printing, and all Absolute titles, including Absolute Batman, rank among the top 10 best-selling comics of 2025.
Fans React to DC's Announcement
Fans seemed just as thrown and excited by the announcement as I was. Some of the best reactions included:
- bengalgram: “🔥🔥🔥🙌”
- Batman: “The clown? Really?”
- jef_seg: “have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”
- biggyxay123__: “someone’s upset their arch Nemesis is getting a tv show😎”
- supergirl: “That’s my good boy 😎”
- superman: “Found the dog!!”
- blake_koala: “Bro!!! Absolute Batman animated series😭”
- martycipher: “ABSOLUTE BATMAN⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️”
- official_supernerd: “I NEED THE ENTIRE ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE IN ANIMATED FORM 🗣️”
- ramen.noodles.22: “Oh these look pretty ni- ABSOLUTE BATMAN????”
- eljoscarlos: “The Absolute Batman series must maintain its gruesome comic nature 👀🦇”
- btartist98: “Wonder Woman deserves an animated series 😭”
That Wonder Woman point is fair. Batman fans have had plenty of animated projects over the years, from classic Bruce Timm series to current shows like Batwheels and Batman: Caped Crusader. A proper Wonder Woman animated series still feels overdue.
Still, the Absolute Batman excitement is hard to ignore. The big question now is how closely the animated series will stick to the comic's tone. A watered-down version would miss a lot of what makes this Bruce feel different in the first place. If DC is going to adapt Absolute Batman, the series needs to lean into the size, grit and street-level rage that helped make the comic stand out.
That is why animation could be such an interesting fit. It can exaggerate this Batman’s size, movement, brutality and Gotham’s atmosphere in ways live action might struggle to make look natural. If DC really leans into the comic’s intensity, this could be the rare Batman page-to-screen adaptation that actually gives longtime fans something new.
The Annecy showcase also touched on other DC animated fare, including Mister Miracle, My Adventures with Green Lantern, Starfire, Creature Commandos and Batman: Caped Crusader. So this was not just a three-title announcement. It was a wider look at how aggressively DC and Warner Bros. Animation are building out that side of the universe.
Joker: Laugh Riot also sounds like a major swing. The adult-targeted anime series follows Joker after Batman’s apparent death, as he sets out to track down whoever robbed him of his greatest obsession, which is exactly the kind of chaotic premise that could either be incredible or completely unhinged in the best way. A Krypto kids’ series sounds charming too, with Superman’s dog teaming up with a group of misfit wannabe criminals and, somehow, accidentally steering them toward doing the right thing. But Absolute Batman is the one I cannot stop thinking about.
There are currently no release dates or networks set for the new series. But once they arrive, fans will likely need an HBO Max subscription to watch them, since they are Warner Bros. properties and that's where new DC animation tends to land.
