HBO Max is launching a number of exclusive audio podcasts for its streaming app, including one featuring the Caped Crusader himself (via The Verge).
Batman: The Audio Adventures is set to land on exclusively on the HBO Max platform in late 2021, meaning it won’t be found on any competing podcast services such as Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Podbean, or Spotify.
While there’s no firm release date yet, it should be launching in the next two or three months, and stars actor Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale, The Last of Us 2) as Batman – despite Wright actually playing the part of Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming live-action Batman movie. Rosario Dawn (Trance, Seven Pounds) will be playing Batwoman – having also voiced Batgirl in The Lego Batman Movie – making for a star-studded lead cast.
Other new podcasts are set to include a sequel to the true crime podcast Looking for LaToya.
Analysis: Podcasts for all
HBO Max is certainly pulling out all the stops as it attempts to draw viewers (and listeners) to its service. The mess of coexisting HBO Now, HBO Go and HBO Max platforms certainly won’t have helped over the past year, but the latter appears to be starting to form a strong identity on its own.
The HBO Max app just landed on LG smart TVs, for one, while those who are yet to subscribe can access a series of free pilot episodes for flagship shows like Game of Thrones and Lovecraft Country, making it easier than ever to sample the library on offer.
James Gunn’s latest DC movie, The Suicide Squad, is now arriving on the platform too – while the upcoming sci-fi epic Dune is set to land (after a few delays) on October 22, on the same day as its theatrical release.
Podcasts are increasingly big business, of course. Spotify launched its own podcast service earlier this year, which has helped to lift its subscriber count to new heights – while even Netflix is getting into the action. But with a handful of big-name IPs like Batman under its utility belt, HBO Max has a decent chance of carving out its own corner of the podcast market.