Though the trades had already reported on his involvement, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran has now confirmed that The Black Phone star Mason Thames will voice Dick Grayson in Dynamic Duo.
There have been conflicting reports about whether the animated movie will be set in the main DCU or an Elseworlds story, and some fans have latched on to something Safran mentioned during an interview with Collider when asked about the project and Thames' casting.
"We always talk about wanting volunteers and not recruits to be part of the DCU, to be part of DC Studios, and Mason always wanted to be Dick Grayson. He just did. And he came in, and auditioned the sh*t out of it, and was awesome. He's a wonderful young actor, but boy, did he want this. He was just obsessed. When he came over to the DC offices, he came over with his dad at the time, and we’ve got tons of great archives and stuff in there, and he wanted to take a picture of everything and with everything. He's a fan."
While Safran did appear to indicate that Thames was now "part of the DCU," he also said "part of DC Studios" in the same breath, so we wouldn't necessarily take this as confirmation that Thames will eventually suit up as Robin/Nightwing in live-action.
"I think that the Swaybox technology is as original today as Pixar was when it did Toy Story," Safran added. "I really think it's that different from anything that's come before it. Even though it's puppets with an overlay of CGI, the fact that it's shot with real cameras brings a visceral nature to the action in a way that I don't think animation itself ever can really capture. I am really, really excited for people to witness what Arthur [Mintz] and Theresa [Andersson], who are the Swaybox founders, have come up with. I think it's really unusual and cool, and it’s a great way to tell a story."
Last month, Brazilian reporter @mundosdadc claimed that Dynamic Duo will be set in the DCU, which would mean that the animated film will mark the big-screen debut of our new Dark Knight (we did get a shadowy glimpse of Batman in Creature Commandos).
Later, @AtlantaDCFans reported that the movie's voice actors will reprise their respective roles in live-action down the line - with the exception of Batman (Chris Pine has been rumored to be in the mix to voice the hero).
If accurate, this would mean that Thames will play Grayson, Logan Kim will play Jason Todd, and Lee Pace and Steve Buscemi would suit up as Red Hood One (aka The Joker) and Red Hood Two.
Earlier this year at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, we learned that Dynamic Duo will actually focus on Todd and Grayson, who meet as a pair of "street rats" before going their separate ways. Dick becomes Batman's Boy Wonder, while Jason joins the Red Hood Gang, setting up an eventual confrontation between the former friends.
(500) Days of Summer writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber penned the latest draft of the script, and the movie is said to utilize CGI, 2D animation, miniatures, models, puppetry, and animatronics.
"Over the moon excited to announce the newest DC Studios/Warner Bros Pictures Animation greenlit film for theaters, Dynamic Duo, the story of Robin...or should I say, Robins, as in Dick Grayson and Jason Todd," James Gunn said when the movie was announced. "The first feature film from the visionary Swaybox, a mix of animation, puppetry, and CGI, a script from the wonderfully talented Matt Aldrich, produced with our partners at Matt Reeves’ 6th and Idaho. This is something special."
Gunn said that there "might be a way" to make Dynamic Duo "fit into the DCU" last year.
"There might be a way it might fit into the DCU. I would love for this animated puppet movie to be a part of the DCU. That's really appealing to me, but the story is unique, and so it may not work within our universe."
Dynamic Duo is set to be released in theaters on September 22, 2028.