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Believe it or not, the iconicSuperman: The Animated Series(STAS) might have never happened! Creator Bruce Timm, fresh off the success ofBatman: The Animated Series(BTAS), was primed for another superhero project.
In the 1990s, as Kids’ WB! (an American children’s programming block that aired on The WB network from 1995 to 2006) was adding more shows during the day and on Saturday mornings, Oscar-winning director and producer Steven Spielberg wanted to team up with Timm. However, fate (and a creative difference) intervened.
Why did Bruce Timm leave a WB project with Steven Spielberg?
In an interview withComicolog,Bruce Timmrevealed that straight off the success of theBatman: The Animated Series,Steven Spielberg(aBTASfan himself) wanted to collaborate with him.
But it wasn’tSuperman. Instead, it wasFreakazoid— a wacky parody superhero. Started in 1995, it stopped airing after only two seasons in 1997. The reason?
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It’s because Timm had a serious, Spider-Man-like idea in mind for the project. But Spielberg wanted to make it a slapstick comedy, which Timm wasn’t into. Since they couldn’t agree creatively,the animator left the project. He said:
“I bailed on it really early. It started out as an adventure show, but it ended up turning into more & more of a comedy show; every time we’d have a meeting with Steven, the concept would kinda change, and it kept leaning more & more towards zany comedy.”
IfFreakazoidhad kept going, Timm would have stayed with it for a while. However, since the show (based on a quirky and unpredictable superhero with random abilities) was set aside, talks about aSupermanproject began to take shape.
Bruce Timm’sSuperman: The Animated SeriesLaunched DC Animated Universe Legacy
Bruce Timm finally got his chance to bring the Man of Steel to life in animation in 1996. He exclaimed in the same interview:
”So one day I had a meeting with my boss, Jean McCurdy, and she said, ‘Do you want to do Superman cartoons?’ And that time I said ‘Yes!’ [Laughs] After Freakazoid, it was like, ‘Yes! I want to do Superman cartoons!’ I didn’t even have to think about it.”
Choosing to go ahead with Superman not only led toSuperman: The Animated Seriesbut also set the stage for the whole DC Animated Universe, likeJustice League(2001) andJustice League Unlimited(2004).
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While it might not get talked about as much asBatman: The Animated Series,Superman: The Animated Seriesis seen as a key show for the DC Animated Universe and a fresh take on Superman.
WatchSuperman: The Animated Serieson Apple TV.
Shreya Jha
Articles Published :1042
Meet Shreya, FandomWire’s go-to Pop-Culture Writer. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a pop culture obsession that rivals even the most die-hard ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel fans.Her articles have been published in Animated Times, Creator Mail, and The Luxxe Mag. When Shreya’s not busy dishing out hot takes, she is lost in the world of rom-coms.
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Bruce TimmSteven Spielberg
