DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran wish to create a DCU (and "Elseworlds") that's comprised of many different stories, meaning a greater variety of genres and ratings for fans.
So, while we have an R-rated animated TV series like Creature Commandos on the one hand, we'll soon get a family-friendly animated movie on the other courtesy of Swaybox's Dynamic Duo. Announced last October, it's expected to be as big a game-changer for DC in animation as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was for Marvel and Sony.
Recently, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, a writing team best known for penning Marc Webb's (500) Days of Summer, were tapped to take a crack at the screenplay.
Dynamic Duo, a combination of miniatures, models, puppetry, animatronics and computer animation, will revolve around Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, who have both taken on the mantle of Robin as Batman's sidekick in this story. As we first reported on Toonado.com, we can now add another impressive name who is lending their talents to the project.
In the DC Universe, comic book artist Jock has lent his immense talents to titles like Batman, Detective Comics, and The Batman Who Laughs. In an interview with Popverse, he revealed that he's been enlisted to help imagine the Caped Crusader's world in this upcoming animated feature.
"I'm currently working on Dynamic Duo for DC," Jock confirmed. "I actually came to New Orleans so that I could visit [Swaybox Studios]. They've got studios down there, so I've been designing stuff for them. Those guys are geniuses. I cannot wait to share what they've been up to."
"Visual development basically. I'd love to tell you what I've been doing, but I guess I've got to be a little bit careful. But it's very exciting and it's right in my wheelhouse. Let's put it that way. I heard from them out of the blue. The title of the email was 'Batman puppet film.' And I thought, 'Oh, okay. What's this?' But then there was a link to their showreel, which you can see on [Swaybox’s] website. I was blown away."
"Seeing what they're doing, applying what they do to the world of Gotham is a sight to behold," he added. "I'm lucky to have worked on a lot of things, but I'm really excited about this. I think it could be really, really special. That's why I was in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. I had the week with them."
DC Studios clearly wants to develop something special with Dynamic Duo, and it's easy to imagine the goal being to deliver a movie that's as groundbreaking and acclaimed as that Spider-Verse franchise. The addition of someone like Jock is a great start in achieving that.
In the comics, Dick was the first one to hold that mantle before leaving Batman's side to become Nightwing. He was taken in as Bruce Wayne's ward after his parents, acrobats the Flying Graysons, were killed by gangsters.
As for Jason, Batman found him attempting to steal one of the Batmobile's wheels and took the boy under his wing. Jason was never the obedient son Dick was, and ended up being killed by The Joker. However, he'd later rise from the dead as the violent vigilante Red Hood. They were never Robin at the same time, making this planned team-up even more intriguing.
Dynamic Duo is set to be released in theaters on June 30, 2028.