‘Dynamic Duo’ gets major casting news as DC changes its release plans
Warner Bros. has announced the lead voices for DC Studios’ animated film ‘Dynamic Duo’ and the release date, which has been moved from June 30, 2028, to September 22, 2028. Mason Thames (‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ ‘The Black Phone’) will voice Dick Grayson, the first Robin who grows up to be Nightwing. Logan Kim (‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife,’ ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’) will voice Jason Todd, the second Robin who becomes Red Hood, as reported by TheWrap. Lee Pace and Steve Buscemi are Red Hood One and Red Hood Two in ‘Dynamic Duo,’ respectively, as members of the villainous Red Hood Gang, which serves as the film’s central conflict, and were previously reported by Jeff Sneider of The InSneider.
‘Dynamic Duo’ will tell the story of Grayson and Todd as orphans and childhood friends, who start as orphans and become friends but eventually go their separate ways. Bruce Wayne adopts Grayson, who becomes Robin, while Todd gets involved with the Red Hood Gang. Meanwhile, Thames seemed to confirm his role as Grayson just hours after the news broke. He shared Nightwing comics on his Instagram story, featuring the Robin identity that Grayson would eventually adopt. Arthur Mintz is directing the film for Swaybox Studios, which uses a “Momo animation” mixture of CGI, stop-motion elements, and live-action performance capture for the production. It will be Swaybox’s first theatrical feature.
Additionally, the film’s release date has been postponed by three months and will now premiere in September. The update was announced on the same day as the casting news. That means ‘Dynamic Duo’ hits seven months after Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman – Part II,’ and will be the second theatrical ‘Batman’ film from DC Studios in 2028. It is unknown if ‘Dynamic Duo’ will exist within the larger continuity of the DC Universe established by co-CEO James Gunn. It may serve as an Elseworlds story, rather than being a part of the broader interconnected mediaverse.
Gunn previously stated that the DCU would be “connected across film and TV (and animation),” a vision that has since been demonstrated in other media, such as Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., who appeared both in the animated series ‘Creature Commandos’ and the live-action films ‘Superman’ and ‘Peacemaker.’ Nevertheless, that does not mean ‘Dynamic Duo’ belongs to the greater DCU continuity. The film was announced as an animated movie about Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, and when asked if it was being reworked to fit within the larger DCU, Gunn replied, “Nope.”
The DCU also has a separate live-action Batman project, ‘The Brave and the Bold,’ in development, which Gunn has said will explore Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin in the comics, in the vein of Grant Morrison’s run on the series. The updates come after DC Studios initially announced ‘Dynamic Duo’ as its first-ever theatrical animated film under current branding, which they announced alongside Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Neither Thames’ nor Kim’s roles have been confirmed to cross over into any potential live-action appearances of their respective characters.