‘Absolute Batman,’ Joker Anime, And More Announced By Warner Bros. Animation, DC Studios From Annecy

One of the biggest superhero comics of the last few years is getting an animated adaptation, with one of its creators at the helm. At a presentation during the 2026 Annecy Animation Film Festival, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios revealed that Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman comic book series is being adapted into an animated series. What’s more, Snyder will serve as showrunner for the upcoming series.

This is exciting news for fans, particularly Snyder’s involvement. At a time when comic book artists have their work turned into billion-dollar blockbusters but barely get any credit, giving Snyder the reins of his own adaptation is a commitment to the artists whose work is the foundation of DC Studios.

Similarly, footage from Tom King’s adaptation of his own Mister Miracle, currently in production, wowed audiences at Annecy with colorful visuals, plenty of blood, and a poignant, somber story for Scott Free that captures what made King’s and Mitch Gerads’ comic book of the same name so compelling. Who would have thought that letting the people who make great comics adapt them for television could work? It’s not like comic book artists and writers have notoriously made for great filmmakers, like Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, or Brian K. Vaughan…

Though no details were given for the show, the Absolute Batman comic features an alternate version of the Caped Crusader, reimagined as a blue-collar civil engineer who doubles as the titular vigilante in a self-designed massive suit of armor. This Batman was born not out of privilege, but in the middle of Crime Alley, with most of the classic Batman villains being childhood friends. Artist Nick Dragotta has actually been talking about wanting an animated adaptation of Absolute Batman for a while now, including his wish for Studio Trigger to helm the series (via IGN).

Speaking of anime, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation are making a brand new DC anime, with Joker: Laugh Riot already greenlit to series. This adult anime, from Sola Entertainment (Blade Runner: Black Lotus, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim), takes place in a world where Batman is dead and an angry Joker takes it upon himself to solve the murder. Inadvertently, this causes Joker to start fighting crime, reckoning with whether he can still be evil without Batman.

It is worth noting that this is not the first DC anime, or even the first DC anime with Joker in it. Back in 2024, Wit Studio and Warner Bros. Japan released Suicide Squad Isekai on HBO Max and Hulu.

Finally, a new Krypto animated series for kids is coming from C. H. Greenblatt, creator of Chowder. The series follows Superman’s dog as he accidentally joins a criminal gang and ends up teaching them how to properly do their jobs while slowly turning them toward the side of good.

The presentation also included new concept art for season two of Creature Commandos, showcasing new team members, including Nosferata, a rebuilt G.I. Robot, the mummy Khalis, and King Shark. My Adventures With Green Lantern, the upcoming spin-off of My Adventures With Superman, showcased a magical girl anime-style transformation sequence for its main character, Jessica Cruz. With My Adventures With Superman already turning Supergirl into Vegeta, why not turn Green Lantern into Sailor Moon?

On the younger audience side of things, DC Studios unveiled footage from Super Powers, a show set at a school for future heroes. It looks very much in the vein of Teen Titans Go!, but with a focus on training and improving superpowers. There’s also Starfire, an origin story for the titular Teen Titans member. It’s a big space adventure on Tamaran and across the stars. Hynden Walch is returning to play the title character, but Starfire is unconnected to any previous series.

Finally, Teen Titans Go! made a big splash with a video package celebrating the show’s upcoming 500th episode in its 10th season, making it the longest-running animated series based on DC characters ever. The footage showed Robin excitedly screaming about the achievement before getting into a fight with the 2003 Teen Titans version of Robin.