When James Gunn and Peter Safran made their initial announcements about the brand new DCU, it came with a slew of movie and TV projects that would tell a variety of unique stories. As fans know, a handful of those have made it out into the world, like Superman, Supergirl, and Lanterns, while others (like The Authority, Booster Gold, and Paradise Lost) have either been stuck in development or seemingly been scrapped. In the years since that announcement, though, the DCU has delivered a few surprises, greenlighting projects that weren’t part of that initial wave.
This October will see the release of Clayface, a new body horror movie about the Batman villain, but now HBO Max has officially confirmed details of another one of these projects. Though initial reports called it “DC Crime” (something Gunn disputed) a spinoff series about Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen has been fully revealed by the streamer, who have confirmed the show will be titled The People v. Gorilla Grodd. Following in the mold of American Vandal (with showrunners Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault working on the series) and acting as a parody of true crime documentaries, the show will be a unique new project for the DCU, and it will bring back even more Superman stars.
HBO Max and DC Studios have confirmed an eight-episode, straight-to-series for The People v. Gorilla Grodd, which will not only bring back Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen but also feature Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd. In addition, three more Superman stars are confirmed to reprise their roles, including Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. The official plot description for the show not only makes it clear that this series will be a laugh riot for the DCU but will also have major implications for the larger timeline of the franchise.
Per the press release, the new series will function as a “true” crime docuseries with Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen “reopening” the case of “a superintelligent ape” who “is convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City.” What Olsen finds, though, is that perhaps Gorilla Grodd was wrongly convicted, meaning one of Metropolis’ most famous murder trials might have been a sham.
“Between Skyler’s wonderful performance and the fantastic chemistry of the Daily Planet cast, we knew coming out of ‘Superman’ that this would be a fun world to explore,” James Gunn and Peter Safran, executive producers and DC Studios’ Co-Chairmen & Co-CEOs, said in a shared statement. “We’re excited to work with the brilliant Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda to take the audience down some of the darker and funnier streets and alleyways of the DCU as Jimmy spotlights the Metropolis criminal justice system for his docuseries.”
Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, who will serve as showrunners and direct every episode of the series, noted that their series revealed an interesting challenge, as it doesn’t feel like anything else in the larger DCU.
“(It) feels less like an entry into the DCU and more like an artifact from it. A Daily Planet original documentary made for the people of Metropolis,” they said. “We hope it’ll appeal to fans of the comics, comedy and true crime. And while we can’t speak for audiences here yet, we already know it’s a huge hit in Metropolis. They love this series.”
Additional stars confirmed for the series include Mary Holland (Ghosts), Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things), Arian Moayed (Severance, the MCU), Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz (The Righteous Gemstones).
As DC readers know, Gorilla Grodd killing his father was central to the character’s new origins when the larger continuity was rebooted with the New 52. In the comics, this is seen as a rite of passage, with the up-and-coming Grodd challenging his king father for the throne, but it would be easy to see how that could become a scandal in the larger DCU. What remains to be seen, though, is how (if at all) the presence of The Flash will be acknowledged or ignored in the show. Grodd and The Flash go hand-in-hand, but to date there’s not even been a tease of someone being cast as the speedster in the DCU..
