After months in the wilderness after being dropped by HBO Max, Amazon has stepped in to save the Dark Knight, picking up the animated Batman: Caped Crusader series for two seasons.

The Hollywood Reporter has the news that Prime Video intends to pick up the animated series from executive producers Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves for two seasons upfront, although it notes that deals have not yet been closed.

Such a deal has been rumored since November last year, when it was reported that Prime and Warner Bros. Television Studios were in discussion for a package of DC-branded animation; Batman: Caped Crusader was mentioned at the time as being one potential series that would be attached to any potential partnership.

Caped Crusader has been in the works for some years, having been initially announced during a WarnerMedia event in May 2021 as an HBO Max/Cartoon Network co-production that would “be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters,” according to a joint statement released at the time by the three execs.

The project marked two separate, but both pop culturally important, returns: it's the first time childhood friends (and Felicity co-creators) J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves have worked together in years, but perhaps more excitingly, it's also the first new Batman animated work from Bruce Timm, of Batman: The Animated Series/Justice League/Justice League Unlimited fame, in years. It was, not to put too fine a point on it, eagerly anticipated.

The production, which includes Criminal and Reckless writer Ed Brubaker as head writer, was then suspended by HBO Max last August as part of its wider cost-cutting measures, with an intent to find a third party outside of the Warner Bros. Discovery family to air the show. That part, at least, appears to have been achieved — although we’ll have to wait for official confirmation from Amazon before we have any idea just when Batman: Caped Crusader will be available to watch.

Batman: Caped Crusader was just one of a number of animated projects halted when Warner Bros. Discovery moved to cut costs last year.