After years of fan petitions, letter-writing campaigns, and Netflix binge watching sessions, Young Justice is finally getting a third season! Warner Brothers announced via press release earlier today that the show had officially entered production on season three of the fan-favorite animated series. In addition, the studio released this poster, teasing fans with nothing more than the number 3.
Young Justice was an animated series about the protégés of DC’s superheroes which began airing in 2010 and ran for two seasons before being cancelled at the beginning of 2013, leaving fans with a terrible cliffhanger ending. Due to the mature writing and excellent animation, the show had amassed a strong, loyal fanbase, and the outcry was immediate, leading to multiple petitions and letter-writing campaigns to save the show.
As the show had been cancelled with no apparent reason, there was a significant controversy after an interview with Paul Dini, a prominent writer for the DC animated universe, where he stated that Cartoon Network executives were unhappy with the large number of female fans that Young Justice had accumulated, because, “Girls don’t buy toys.” This led to rumors that Young Justice had been cancelled because Cartoon Network didn’t want girls watching it.
These rumors were dispelled by producers, who later revealed that it wasn’t that the show had too many female fans; it didn’t have enough fans buying toys in general. They said the cancellation was due to the source of the funding for the show, Mattel. Young Justice was funded through a toy deal, and when the toys didn’t sell as well as Mattel hoped, they pulled the funding, effectively ending the show.
Fans never gave up on the hope that the show could someday return. In February of this year, Netflix released both seasons for streaming, prompting show-runner Greg Weisman to tell fans that the best way to get a third season was to stream the show on Netflix as much as possible. This led to more petitions, this time to Netflix directly, as well as support on social media from a large number of the cast and crew who all wanted to see the show return.
Rumors swirled all year about Netflix’s intentions for the series, but there was nothing new announced until today; though even now, we know almost nothing, not even where the show will end up. Fans are hoping that the show will be a Netflix exclusive, as some are still bitter about Cartoon Network’s treatment of the show, but as of now, Warner Brothers has not said who is getting the show.
Regardless of when and where the show eventually lands, the fact that fans’ voices were finally heard is a testament to the power of the internet. Without the loud and loyal fanbase, this third season would not be happening.
Were you a fan of Young Justice? What do you think of this news?
Edited by: Kelly Conley
