Dynamic Duo: How Does the New DC Movie Fit Into James Gunn's DCU?

Will the Robins movie fit into the DCU, The Batman universe, or somewhere new?

By Jenna Anderson

James Gunn and Peter Safran's stamp on the DC mythos is continuing to grow, with their tenure co-running DC Studios leading to some unexpected movie and television projects. One of the biggest surprises — a new animated film titled Dynamic Duo — was announced directly from Gunn earlier this week. The project will be brought to life by animation studio Swaybox, who will use "a mix of animation, puppetry, and CGI" to tell the story of the first two Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. In addition to pure excitement from fans about seeing the two Robins on the big screen, the Dynamic Duo announcement has raised some interesting questions. Among them — where does the film fit in the larger context of Gunn and Safran's plans? At this point, there is no confirmation, but there are a few possibilities.

Naturally, fans have wondered if Dynamic Duo is a direct part of DC Studios' main DC Universe, which will encompass various movies and television shows under one cohesive canon. While the majority of DCU projects announced have been live-action, the saga is set to kick off with an animated series, December's Creature Commandos. With that in mind, it certainly wouldn't be impossible for Dynamic Duo to be DCU canon — but given the long timeline of developing animation, it could cause an interesting creative conundrum. The DCU's Batman corner is already set to include The Brave and the Bold, a new live-action film starring Bruce Wayne / Batman and Damian Wayne / Robin, which is set to be directed by Andy Muschietti but has remained in development for the better part of the past year. While not confirmed by DC Studios, there are also reports that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow screenwriter Ana Nogueira is penning a Teen Titans film, which would presumably include at least one of the Robins. If Dynamic Duo does end up being DCU canon, even as a prequel showcasing the early days of Dick and Jason's superhero careers, it would be laying a lot of the canonical groundwork for how the DCU's Gotham City is translated in the future. 

There are also the theories that Dynamic Duo has some sort of connection to Matt Reeves' The Batman saga — helped by the fact that Reeves is serving as an executive producer on the project. Dynamic Duo being a sequel to The Batman trilogy would be unexpected, but it would definitely provide a distinct interpretation of that corner's gritty and live-action world. (Also, it's safe to say that The Batman star Robert Pattinson is capable of delivering a wacky voice acting performance.) That being said, Dynamic Duo is not the first time Reeves has helped bring a Batman project to life that has nothing to do with his movies, as he, J.J. Abrams, and Bruce Timm are all involved with Prime Video's Batman: Caped Crusader animated series. There's a good chance that Dynamic Duo could be a similar situation, especially with Reeves hinting in a statement that the project largely came about from his desire to collaborate with Swaybox.

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That leaves us with a third, and arguably most likely, option — that Swaybox is a standalone feature film that will potentially be under the DC Elseworlds banner. Gunn and Safran have confirmed plans to use the banner on new and existing projects, ranging from Teen Titans GO! to Merry Little Batman and beyond. There are already rumors of a Jurassic League animated film being in development at DC Studios, which — given its entire pitch being another universe's dinosaur Justice League — would probably be under DC Elseworlds as well. It's easy to imagine Dynamic Duo joining that roster, allowing the project to thrive as its own entity (or maybe even its own pocket franchise, if it is successful). Given the distinct animation style Swaybox is bringing to the project, it would certainly provide DC's answer to the recent juggernauts of Sony's Spider-Verse animated movies and Paramount's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, without having to adhere to any specific canon. Either way, there's a good chance that Dynamic Duo will end up being something special to the future of the DC brand.

Dynamic Duo does not currently have a release date.

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