The DC Universe has had an uneven year so far in 2026: Supergirl may not have taken flight in theaters, but Lanterns has become a major cultural phenomenon that has once again proven the appeal of the DCU brand in a prestige TV format (see also: The Penguin). However, just when it seemed like DC could conquer the television format in a way Marvel Studios hasn’t, news dropped that the next big live-action show being fast-tracked at DC Studios is one no fan ever expected… or asked for.
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James Gunn’s Superman (2025) was a hit reboot of the iconic character and a successful introduction to the DCU for mainstream viewers. Superman may have made a star of its titular character (and actor David Corenswet), but it also had some breakout supporting characters, including Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s newsroom sidekick, Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo). Now Jimmy will be featured in a spinoff TV series, featuring one of the most fantastical DC villains around. The People v. Gorilla Grodd is already in production, and now we have our first look at the titular DC supervillain.
First Look At DCU Gorilla Grodd Revealed On Set of The People v. Gorilla Grodd
What’s blowing DC fans’ minds is not so much the sight of Gorilla Grodd being an actor in a Gorilla Suit, but rather the setting of the scene. This looks like a flashback to Grodd graduating from college, which is not inconceivable as a portion of the villain’s backstory, but is pretty humorous to see being created as a serious Hollywood franchise production. The immediate reaction from fans seems to be a collective sentiment of “…What?” if not “Whyyyyyyyyy?!”
Some people are hoping that this scene isn’t about Grodd at all, but rather some other resident of Gorilla City (DC’s secret city of intelligent Apes). That’s all possible, but the shot of the Gorilla in gray robes certainly seems to suggest that it’s Grodd.
To be fair, at this point we know enough about superhero TV and movie-making that we can reasonably expect Grodd to be realized onscreen through a combination of practical effects (gorilla suit), CGI visual enhancements, and perhaps even some animatronics or puppetry.
Who Is Playing DCU Gorilla Grodd?
Actor Jimmy Tatro (American Vandal, Scream 7) will be doing “mostly voice acting” to play Grodd, but suddenly, that “mostly” word is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Will Tatro be in the gorilla suit? By his own words: maybe?
“It’s mostly voice acting,” Tatro previously told the Pardon My Take podcast. “And I think they’re gonna use my expressions. I don’t know exactly the tech. They asked me if I would be interested; it’s the same guys that did American Vandal that are doing this. I don’t know how much I am supposed to say. I feel like they are pretty strict about this stuff. But I’m hyped. I feel like I was born to play a gorilla.”
The People v. Gorilla Grodd has Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault serving as its writers, executive producers, and showrunners. The pair had a breakout hit with American Vandal, the Netflix mockumentary that ran for two seasons (2017-2018). That show made mockery of the true crime documentary genre, following two high schoolers who investigate the “crime” of someone spary painting dirty images all over campus. American Vandal got noteriety (and an Emmy nomination) for playing the joke straight, perfectly mimicking the style and tropes of a true crime doc, even though the subject matter was ridiculous and juvenile.
That’s about the only way we can believe that a show titled The People v. Gorilla Grodd could work: Jimmy Olsen doing “serious” investigative journalism into Grodd’s supervillain career and its legal ramifications, as well as the larger (absurdist) question of a Gorilla being tried by the laws of man.
The People v. Gorilla Grodd is in production. Also returning in the series are Superman‘s Daily Planet news team, including Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White.
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Forum Conversation: LANTERNS EP 4 MANHUNTER REVEAL
Go to Forum“Atrocitus” huh LOL
We don’t know how Hal knows — the ring could have told him. We DO now that Hal is not in the habit of checking in, and he goes “with his gut”, so he could just be reacting to his perception of the information he has. The ring could have detected another ring being used when John has his test, and knowing he hasn’t exactly been a model corps member and his age now being more and more a factor, plus his ego… it’s more than likely his behaviour is all driven by assumptions (they are trying to replace me) that just happen to be partially correct, therefor (in his eyes) reinforcing the prospecting telling him all he thinks he needs to know.
What I do love about this show is it leverages the Rashomon storytelling style of telling one even from the perspective of different characters (sometime unreliably), and every time we are told what we “already know”, we actually learn more about what really happened. The answers are most likely right in front of us, it just hasn’t clicked (by design) from the right perspective yet.
Yeah, my comment wasn’t praise (per se) about John’s method — just pointing out their very different approaches — which I feel adds to their disconnect since they aren’t communicating motives. They could actually learn a lot from each other (both for this case, and how to be better Lanterns) had they not been played against each other by Lianna.
Personally, I don’t think time matters (narrative-wise) in relation to one or several Manhunters. They have no real individual personality or motivation outside their human cover, and since we’ve already been introduced to who they are and what they did, having one, three or ten hiding in the town, or hell — the whole town — would need little more setup. All the things you mention can be covered easily in the remaining four episodes, while also revealing half the town (for instance) are Manhunters seeking refuge from those searching for them. What If that is what Abin Sur discovered? Not one, but a colony of them — having Zoe as the narrative’s “representative” for them — and that way providing their exposition.