Batman has often counted on the Batmobile to patrol the streets of Gotham City ever since the vehicle debuted on the pages of DC Comics in 1939. Now, Warner Bros. Animation announced it's started production on an animated pre-school series about the famous vehicle for HBO Max and Cartoon Network titled Batwheels.
Batwheels will focus on a team of sentient crime-fighting vehicles consisting of leader Bam (the Batmobile), Bibi (The Batgirl Cycle), Red (The Redbird), Jett (The Batwing), and Buff (The Bat Truck). Per the official synopsis of the series from Warner Bros. Animation, the team of vehicles must navigate the growing pains of being a newly-formed superhero team while also facing the struggles that come with being a kid. The show will follow the team on a series of heroic adventures that demonstrate the value of self-confidence, friendship, and teamwork with appearances by Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and more DC Comics Heroes along the way.
While the series will air on Cartoon Network and stream on HBO Max, it is currently unclear if Batwheels will debut on both platforms simultaneously. Batwheels is among the first series to be greenlit by Tom Ascheim in his recently-appointed role as president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults, and Classics division. "Batwheels is the perfect show to headline our new foray into preschool," said Ascheim in a statement. "I can’t wait for all the aspiring superheroes out there to meet this whole new batch of crime-fighters."
Batwheels is just the latest DC project being developed for HBO Max, which has now taken on a number of superhero television shows previously hosted by DC Universe. Of course, most of these shows, including Harley Quinn and the developing Peacemaker series, are targeted towards older audiences. Of course, it may hard for DC fans to ignore the apparent similarities behind the concept of Batwheels and Pixar's Car film series. Then again, while it may seem to be a bizarre concept, one can hardly fault DC for offering children content while it arguably focuses on darker and more adult-oriented projects on the features side.
Batwheels will premiere on Cartoon Network and HBO Max on a yet-to-be-determined date.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter