DC Announces ‘Joker: Laugh Riot’ Series With a Wild New Take on Batman’s Greatest Enemy
DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation are expanding their animated universe with several major new projects, including the first-ever DC anime series, a new take on Batman, and a family-friendly adventure starring Superman’s famous dog.
The announcements were made during the first joint DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation presentation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. According to the studios, the event highlighted their plans to create more animated stories for different audiences while giving new creators the chance to bring fresh ideas to DC’s famous characters.
One of the biggest reveals was Joker: Laugh Riot, which will become DC Studios’ first anime series. The project is being developed with Sola Entertainment and will be directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, who previously worked on The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
The series will follow the Joker after Batman’s death. Instead of celebrating the loss of his biggest enemy, Joker begins searching for the person responsible, leading him into Gotham’s criminal world. As the story moves forward, he starts questioning his own identity and realizes he may not know who he is without Batman.
The official description explains that Joker will go on “a ruthless crusade through Gotham’s underworld to find the killer who took away his greatest adversary.” The series will explore a different side of the villain, showing what happens when the character who defined his existence is suddenly gone.
DC also confirmed an animated adaptation of Absolute Batman, the popular comic series created by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Snyder will serve as executive producer and showrunner, while Dragotta will work as a producer on the project.
The Absolute Batman comic launched in 2024 as part of DC’s Absolute Universe line and quickly became one of the publisher’s biggest successes. The series presents a different version of Bruce Wayne, showing him as a younger, working-class hero who fights crime without the massive fortune usually associated with Batman.
The comic has sold more than six million copies, making the upcoming animated adaptation one of DC’s most anticipated projects. Fans at Annecy reportedly reacted strongly when the first details and images were shown during the presentation.
Along with these darker projects, DC and Warner Bros. Animation are also creating something much lighter with a new Krypto series. The show is being developed by C. H. Greenblatt, known for shows like Chowder and Jellystone!.
The series will focus on Krypto as he joins a group of inexperienced criminals living nearby. The super-powered dog’s personality slowly changes the group as they get caught up in chaotic adventures.
During the event, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran and Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register also shared updates on other upcoming projects, including new seasons of Creature Commandos and Batman: Caped Crusader.
The announcements show that DC is continuing to expand beyond live-action films, building a larger animated lineup that includes anime, adult animation, and family-focused shows. With projects like Joker: Laugh Riot, Absolute Batman, and Krypto in development, the studio is preparing a new era of animated DC stories for fans around the world.
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