The upcoming DC Universe HBO TV series starring Jimmy Olsen from last year’s Superman movie is “both a Jimmy Olsen AND a Gorilla Grodd show,” James Gunn has clarified.
Yesterday, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran revealed that the Gorilla Grodd HBO show — as he described it — starts shooting this year. That news sparked questions about the nature of the Jimmy Olsen show DC Studios was thought to be working on. But based on Gunn’s comments, it’s as much about the supervillain as it is about the Daily Planet photojournalist.
“It’s both a Jimmy Olsen AND a Gorilla Grodd show. And it’s one of my favorite projects. We start filming soon,” Gunn said in a post on Threads.
Jimmy Olsen, played by Skyler Gisondo, was one of the breakout characters in last year’s Superman and was immediately tipped for a spinoff. Gorilla Grodd, meanwhile, debuted in The Flash #106 back in May 1959. He is a super-intelligent ape who possesses super strength and speed as well as the powers of telepathy and telekinesis.
Late last year, it was reported that DC Studios and HBO Max were developing a fictional true crime series set in the DCU called DC Crime. According to Variety, it would look and feel like a true crime docuseries presented by Jimmy Olsen, and the first season would focus on Gorilla Grodd. But Gunn has now denied the show is called DC Crime, saying in another post on Threads: “It is not and has never been called DC Crime.”
In an Instagram comment, Gunn denied claims the series started out as a Jimmy Olsen show and has become a Gorilla Grodd show instead. “It didn’t become anything,” he said. “It is what it’s always been, including pitching it as part of the package before I even started at DC.”
So, we don’t know yet what this upcoming show is called, or really how it will work or fit into the ongoing DCU, which continues this summer with Supergirl, and then with next year’s Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow.
Speaking to journalist Matías Lértora at a screening of Supergirl at Río de Janeiro, Safran said that once Gunn is finished with Man of Tomorrow, fans will find out what the future of the DCU looks like post-2027.
“When James is done with Man of Tomorrow, we’ll really sit down and talk about what the next part of the story looks like,” Safran said. “We have a pretty good sense of what’s happening for at least the next couple of years, that’s for sure.”
So, what might that involve? We know DC Studios plans to introduce its own Batman with The Brave and the Bold, and there are plans to eventually tie everything together with a Justice League movie. Gunn recently confirmed the Booster Gold and Paradise Lost shows are still alive (and we can now say with certainty that the Jimmy Olsen spinoff will come out), but The Authority movie has fallen by the wayside.
The Authority was one of the surprise projects announced as part of Gunn and Safran’s overarching Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters DC Universe reboot three years ago. At the time, Gunn described The Authority, which revolves around the infamously brutal superhero team of the same name from the WildStorm Universe, as a “big movie,” but it ran into significant issues.
Right now, we have confirmed release dates for HBO show Lanterns, movies Supergirl and Clayface, and the aforementioned Man of Tomorrow.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
