Absolute Batman is heading to the screen.
DC’s comic book sensation will be adapted as an animated series. Comic creators Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta will help develop the project.
Snyder will serve as executive producer and showrunner. Dragotta will serve as producer.
The series was announced as part of a joint DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation presentation at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The showcase featured DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran and Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register. Warner Animation artists also shared first looks and creative details from DC’s next wave of animated projects.
A New Take on Batman
Absolute Batman launched DC’s Absolute line in late 2024 and reimagined the Caped Crusader from the ground up.
This version of Bruce Wayne did not lose both parents. He lost one. He also did not grow up as a wealthy heir from one of Gotham City’s richest families. Instead, he came from the projects and worked a blue-collar job.
He also brought a much more physical presence to the role. This Batman is massive, aggressive, and willing to drop-kick a kid who belongs to a gang of evildoers.
The book has become a major sales force for DC. The Absolute line has sold more than six million copies. Absolute Batman No. 1 has gone through 11 printings.
The comic and the larger Absolute line have helped DC overtake Marvel in market share for the first time this century. The success has also raised the profiles of Dragotta and other artists attached to the line. This week, DC also revealed that Absolute Batman is getting the Funko treatment.
Joker Gets His First Anime Series
DC also announced that Joker: Laugh Riot has been greenlit as the company’s first anime series.
Longtime DC animation veteran Jim Krieg will executive produce the series. Krieg recently worked on animated adaptations of Watchmen and Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Yasuhuro Aoki will direct. Japan’s SOLA Entertainment will work on the project with Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios.
The series has not yet been set at a network.
The story gives Joker a sharp new hook. After Batman is murdered, the Clown Prince of Crime becomes a twisted version of his greatest enemy. He turns detective and begins hunting the killer.
The logline revealed at Annecy states, “When Batman is murdered, the Joker launches a ruthless crusade through Gotham’s underworld to find the killer who took away his greatest adversary. But as his violent quest for answers pushes him closer towards vigilante than villain, Joker is forced to confront the truth that without Batman, he doesn’t know who he is.”
Krypto Gets a New Series
Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are also developing an untitled Krypto series.
C.H. Greenblatt, known for SpongeBob SquarePants, will executive produce the project.
Krypto has been receiving more attention across DC projects. The superdog appeared in last year’s Superman and plays a key role in Supergirl.
The logline states, “When he’s not hanging out with Superman or Supergirl, Krypto tags along with a gang of misfit criminal wannabes who live down the block, and they soon discover he’s a ball of destructive, lovable energy worse than any of them! As he follows them into misadventures and poorly laid plans, Krypto’s pure nature slowly ends up redeeming them, whether they want it or not.”
DC Animation Builds Its Next Wave
Warner Bros. Animation and DC have several animated projects in the pipeline.
The slate includes season two of Batman: Caped Crusader and the upcoming Batman: Knightfall.
With Absolute Batman, Joker: Laugh Riot, and the new Krypto series in development, DC is building a broader animated lineup across superhero action, anime, and family-driven comedy.
