HBO Max Has 'No Plans' For Young Justice Season 5

Warner Bros. Discovery has turned into the most chaotic, uncertain place in the film industry almost overnight. After the studio decided to cancel "Batgirl" and "Scoob! Holiday Haunt" despite both films having finished filming in an unprecedented move, they also removed streaming original films from HBO Max, proving the instability of streaming.

Under the leadership of David Zaslav, the century-old studio is going through monumental changes, from the big franchises all the way down to the uncertain futures of TV shows with cult followings. The latest show to reportedly fall victim to Zaslav's Terreur is the fan-favorite "Young Justice." After two seasons on Cartoon Network, the show was canceled in 2013 reportedly because it was not selling enough toys. It wasn't until six years later that the show made its triumphant return with a third season on the shortlived DC Universe streaming service, an underrated platform that gave us such gems as "Doom Patrol" and "Harley Quinn."

When DC Universe was absorbed by HBO Max, "Young Justice" made the jump, with a fantastic season that successfully managed its large ensemble, told more focused stories, introduced some queer representation, and built up to what would most likely be a Crisis-level event. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be in the cards anymore.

Though there hasn't been an official cancellation announcement, there has also not been any news of a season 5 renewal for "Young Justice." 

To make matters worse, the latest Inside Line column from TV Line included this tidbit about the future of the show: "HBO Max from go had only ordered a single season of the onetime Cartoon Network and DC Universe series, and that plan has not changed. There are currently no plans for a Season 5, I am told."

This would make sense, in that so far the show has only been renewed one season at a time, first for DC Universe, now for HBO Max. That shows the studio was not super confident in the future of the series. Still, it is a huge bummer and a terrible decision by Warner Bros. Discovery. Say what you will about the DC cinematic output compared to Marvel's, but it's been the fan consensus that DC's animated movies and TV shows are where its strength lies. From the old Timmverse/Diniverse that began with "Batman: The Animated Series," to their theatrical animated universe that has been exploring a diverse, exciting, and consistently good series of films for the past 10 years. 

When it comes to "Young Justice," the show is still one of the best superhero shows of recent years, animated or otherwise. To lose that without giving the creators time to plan a proper ending is heartbreaking and also a very bad idea.

Then again, who knows? "Young Justice" has already cheated cancellation once before...

"Young Justice" is currently streaming on HBO Max.