Ethan Hawke‘s hit Batman TV show returns to HBO Max today with new episodes. The animated series takes a unique approach to telling the story of the Batfamily, something that has clearly resonated with viewers.
Batwheels returns today with the fourth leg of its third season on the platform. For the uninitiated, the show follows the adventures of the various Batfamily vehicles, in what seems like an odd fusion of Batman: Brave and the Bold and Pixar’s Cars franchise.
What to know about Ethan Hawke’s Batman TV show
The stories told in Batwheels are pretty simple. The Bat family’s vehicles unite to stop the nefarious intentions of the vehicles of various Batman villains and other Gotham-based vigilantes. Ethan Hawke comes to the project as the voice of the Dark Knight himself, seamlessly mixing comedy with gravitas.
The show has been credited with making Batman successful with preschoolers, which is something that the recent, more cinematic interpretations have left underserved. Zack Snyder’s brooding veteran vigilante and Matt Reeves’ Epic Crime version of the character were geared towards a mature audience. With Gunn’s Brave and the Bold still in development, Batwheels can fill a niche with younger audiences for Dark Knight content.
Showrunner Simon J. Smith reflected on how he and his team geared Batman towards younger children in an interview with Brand Untapped. There, he stated, “We wanted to bring it back into preschool a bit more because we realised there’s this untapped potential – because around 33% of animation is for younger audiences. And I was looking at the amazing catalogue and relationship Warner Bros. has with DC, and wondering if there was a way of bringing the adult-rated Dark Knight down to a level where everybody can enjoy it…”
There is no news yet about a fourth season. However, given how popular it is with an untapped audience, it is likely a matter of time before WB greenlights the next chapter of the series.
Originally reported on SuperHeroHype.