As rumors continue to swirl about DC Studios' plans to introduce a new version of Batman in The Brave and the Bold, there's been speculation that the DCU's Caped Crusader has already been cast.
Earlier this month, John Campea stated that he believes DC Studios has found our new Batman, and he knows which actor has been cast as the next big-screen Dark Knight. The YouTuber declined to reveal the name, but Tom Brittney - who was a top contender to play the Man of Steel in Superman before David Corenswet landed the role - quickly emerged as the internet's best guess.
Campea has since backtracked somewhat, claiming that three actors may actually be in contention: one "primary" and two that he "knows they have talked to." He also reiterated that this is a name he was not expecting.
While Campea might well have received some solid intel, James Gunn wasn't having any of it when asked about the report on Threads.
The Superman director and DC Studios co-CEO responded with a straight-to-the-point: "De and bunked."
Gunn could be lying, of course, but something tells us that if there was any truth to the rumor, he simply wouldn't have responded.
In related news, actor Jimmy Tatro has now confirmed that he will play Gorilla Grodd in the planned "DC Crime" series. The Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice star revealed that Grodd will mostly be a voice acting role, but his likeness will also be used to bring the simian supervillain to life.
We had heard that this project was officially moving forward under the title "DC Crime." This has since been debunked by Gunn, and the trades are still using the title for now. American Vandal co-creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda are on board to write, executive produce and showrun the series, with Skyler Gisondo set to reprise his Superman role as Clark Kent's pal, Jimmy Olsen.
"The concept centers on Olsen, as well as other Daily Planet reporters (minus Lois Lane and Clark Kent), who tackle cases involving super-powered villains"
This take on the character is described as: "A hyper-intelligent telepathic ape who has sought to rule both the simian and human worlds, though the Flash has frequently thwarted his plans.”
This will mark Grodd's live-action DCU debut, but the character did briefly appear in the Creature Commandos animated series. Though he has also tangled with Superman on a number of occasions, Grodd is generally considered a Flash villain, which might indicate that this show will serve as an introduction to several other DC Comics metahuman characters.
DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran will executive produce. Galen Vaisman is overseeing for DC.
During a recent interview with DC Direct, co-showrunner Dan Perrault said that the series falls under the "crime mystery comedy" genre.
"Well, it's comfortable territory for Tony Yacenda and I. We've worked in this crime mystery comedy for a very long time... There's definitely tools from that toolkit that we can apply here that I don't think has been seen in the superhero genre thus far."
Gisondo will also return for Man of Tomorrow, along with the rest of the Daily Planet crew, but we wouldn't count on David Corenswet (Clark Kent/the Man of Steel) or Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) dropping by for this series. Then again, Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor did make a cameo in season 2 of Peacemaker, who you really never know.