In their first joint studio presentation at Annecy’s lakeside Bonlieu theater, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation unveiled Thursday a next wave of animated projects for the years to come, including DC Studios’ first-ever anime series, “Joker: Laugh Riot,” Scott Snyder’s take on “Absolute Batman” and a new “Krypto” series by “Spongebob” alum C.H. Greenblatt.

“Batman” and animation fans in the Annecy audience went wild as Peter Safran, co‑chairman and co‑CEO, DC Studios, and Sam Register, president, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studio, and Hanna‑Barbera Studios Europe, unveiled the three projects on stage alongside Warner Bros. Animation showrunners and executive producers who shared first looks and creative insights into the next era of DC animation.

As anime builds huge traction in the U.S. and global markets, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are teaming up with Sola Entertainment to bring “Joker: Laugh Riot” to fans worldwide.

Helmed by “ChaO” award-winning director Yasuhiro Aoki, who previously worked on Warner Bros Animation and Sola’s joint feature “The Lords of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” the trailblazing show will take viewers alongside the Joker, as he launches a ruthless crusade through Gotham’s underworld to find Batman’s killer, who took away his greatest adversary —and, incidentally, his own kill. But as his violent quest for answers pushes him closer towards vigilante than villain, Joker is forced to confront the truth that without Batman, he doesn’t know who he is.

This brand new anime series comes as WBA and DC continue to push for more anime content, thanks to the support and insights of Jason DeMarco, senior VP, action and anime development at Warner Bros. Animation who produced “War of the Rohirrim,” alongside a “Rick and Morty” anime adaptation and “Lazarus” and “Uzumaki” series with Adult Swim.

In front of what Register dubbed “the best audience in the world for animation,” the announcement of an animated adaption of “Absolute Batman,” the award-winning and best-selling DC comic book series, was met with raucous applause and cheers by the Annecy’s crowd. Register and Safran, along with Peter Girardi, executive vice president, alternative programming atWarner Bros. Animation, unveiled the new adult animated series project, written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta, as creators shared first look images of the upcoming series. Scott Snyder will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with Dragotta as producer.

The comic book series has sold more than 6 million copies to date, with the first issue of “Absolute Batman” reaching an eleventh edition. All “Absolute” titles, including “Absolute Batman,” rank among the top 10 best-selling comics of 2025.

Beyond adult animation, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios also revealed Thursday that a new “Krypto” animated series had been greenlit, with “Chowder,” “Jellystone” creator-writer C.H. Greenblatt set to drive this fun-filled, super-canine adventure.

The series, currently under development, follows Krypto as he tags along with a gang of misfit criminal wannabes who live down the block. They soon discover he’s a ball of destructive, lovable energy worse than any of them! As he accompanies them into misadventures and poorly laid plans, Krypto’s pure nature slowly ends up redeeming them, whether they want it or not.

Beyond these three greenlights, Safran, Register and Girardi shared updates on both adult, young adult and kids upcoming tv series, underlining the strong commitment both studios have in bringing DC characters to global audiences of all ages.

Adult animated fan-favorite shows “Creatures Commandos,” “Batman: Caped Crusader” both got the Bonlieu audience on its feet, the latter launching on Prime Video on July 31. New shows such as “Mister Miracle” were met with cheers and interest from the animation-loving crowd, as author Tom King shared his passion for this character. Under roaring applause from Annecy’s audience, King shared how grafetul he felt for bringing his comic series to life. “Today, as animation keeps reaching new heights, I am deeply convinced we can create our own ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Sopranos,’ ‘Mad Men’ level shows. And I’m truly happy to bring ‘Mr Miracle’ to the screen.”

On the Vertigo side of DC, “Get Jiro” is set to premiere this fall on Adult Swim. The show has a long history with Annecy, as WBA announced it here three years ago, before bringing it to a riveting work-in-progress session last year in Annecy as well.

Previously teased young adults, kids & family series included “My Adventures with Green Lantern,” a brand-new magical-girl inspired series from the “Adventure-verse,” kickstarted by Jake Wyatt’s 2023 hit “My Adventures with Superman,” “Starfire!,” presented by executive producer Josie Campbell, and Matt Bean’s “DC Super Powers,” while Safran and Register confirmed that the tenth season of “Teen Titans Go,” now DC’s longest running show ever, was currently in production. An achievement celebrated in the best possible way: with a small clip from the DC, Warner Bros animation teams, in wonderful Annecy fashion.

Safran, who attended Annecy this year for the first time, underlined how much the event had absolutely outdone his expectations. “Everyone in the team kept talking to me about it. Know I understand why.” In fact, as we write, the co-chairman and CEO of DC Studios might very well have booked his 2027 plane ticket already.

Story Continues

Even though it wasn’t a huge hit when it was released in theaters in 2026, one of Gerard Butler‘s best movies in years is finding a second life on streaming. The sci-fi and action thriller mash-up stars Butler alongside Morena Baccarin and Roman Griffin Davis, and is currently climbing the streaming charts despite bombing at the box office and being met with divisive reactions from critics at the time.

Released back in January 2026, Greenland 2: Migration sees Butler once again playing a fearless husband and father trying to get his family to safety. The 98-minute apocalyptic film boasts state-of-the-art special effects, white-knuckle sequences that’ll put you on the edge of your seat (the mountaintop scene is absolute gold), and likely one of Butler’s best performances.

Grounded Drama Against a Disaster Epic Backdrop

Greenland 2: Migration picks up following the hugely successful Greenland, which was released back in 2020, and picks up with the Garrity family as they struggle to survive while living in a bunker after a planet-destroying comet hits the Earth. The problem is that the planet is still unstable, and an earthquake forces everybody out and into an unknown wasteland. John (Butler), Allison (Baccarin), and their son Nathan (Davis) must find a way to survive again in a world where the fallout and remaining comet fragments are the least of their problems.

The 2026 sequel closely follows the spirit of the first movie. It is a gripping portrait of a family fighting for survival when their odds are slim. Greenland 2: Migration reprises the first film’s particular approach, which is that the story never feels manipulated in order to depict John Garrity’s journey as overly heroic. He just does what’s needed to provide for his family, and at times, this can mean doing bad things. Greenland 2: Migration is now ranked #7 in the top 10 list of Prime Video‘s most-watched movies globally, standing above major hits like Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid and Jason Statham’s Shelter.

Gerard Butler Stretches Both His Acting & Action Muscles

Gerard Butler has always been associated with the action genre, and he’s got more than enough in his catalog to prove it. Films like 300 and the Has Fallen series are some of his most famous works, and fortunately, the 56-year-old actor is not showing any signs of stopping. More recently, films like Den of Thieves and Plane show he’s still got it.

But in the Greenland movies, he has done more than portray the typical action hero. The role demands more from Butler, and a good script draws out his dramatic range. The first movie saw him play a father and husband going against every obstacle out there to protect his family in the middle of the apocalypse. The sequel needed the same formula, but the actor went for more, playing a father and husband whose hope depends solely on giving everything to others.

Unfortunately, his strong performance – and arguably one of his best ever – wasn’t enough to convince audiences to go into theaters. Greenland 2: Migration flopped at the box office. Produced with a budget of $90 million, the film only grossed about $45 million. It was a different result than the one from the first movie, which grossed more than $53 million against a $35 million budget.

Critics were also seemingly not impressed with Butler’s performance, but many still singled out Butler’s performance as one of the best things in the movie. Today, the sequel sits at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes – a poor rating when compared to the 78% the first movie still has on the critics’ website.

Release Date

January 9, 2026

Runtime

98 Minutes

Director

Ric Roman Waugh

Writers

Chris Sparling, Mitchell LaFortune

Producers

Basil Iwanyk, Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel, John Zois, Sebastien Raybaud, Brendon Boyea