The DC Studios train is chugging right along, and James Gunn isn't champing at the bit to stop it to spend time comparing his franchise to the MCU. With Lanterns holding down the fort on HBO, Gunn and Co. are testing their luck on the TV side of things with The People vs. Gorilla Grodd, a docuseries that will focus on Jimmy Olsen of Superman fame revisiting a case that landed the titular villain in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit.
Crime is par for the course in a superhero universe. And from time to time, comic book characters find themselves facing the music for the trouble that their double lives get them into. Take, for example, the MCU's Abomination, who went to prison for destroying Harlem in The Incredible Hulk and needed Jennifer Walters to secure his release in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
It's easy to draw a line between the one-season Marvel Studios show and The People vs. Gorilla Grodd because their subject matter seems to overlap. However, Gunn wants the record to show that he doesn't see things the same way.
After coming across a ScreenRant post describing The People vs. Gorilla Grodd as "Invincible meets She-Hulk," the co-CEO of DC Studios expressed confusion on Threads.
"Although, The People Vs is a DCU true crime docuseries, so I don't see what it has in common with either of those shows."
Gunn's comment suggests his latest DC Studios show is less about the crime and more about its fallout. The in-universe announcement the filmmaker posted on social media revealed that Jimmy and his Daily Planet co-workers will sit down with parties from both sides of the case and get their testimonials, hoping to suss out the truth as only journalists can.
The People vs. Gorilla Grodd's premise sounds like it might fit better on Investigation Discovery than HBO Max. But it's sure to find the perfect balance between docuseries and superhero show, as its creators already have plenty of experience with the weird and wacky.
The People vs. Gorilla Grodd Will Be Unlike Any Other Superhero TV Show
James Gunn had many ideas bouncing around his head when he first sat down with the powers that be at Warner Bros. to discuss the future of DC Studios, including the Jimmy Olsen spinoff. His confidence in the project likely stemmed from his ability to court talented creatives to help bring his vision to life. When it finally came time to get The People vs. Gorilla Grodd off the ground, Gunn reached out to none other than American Vandal creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda.
American Vandal had a successful two-season run on Netflix, following young documentarians as they covered pranks that got out of hand with a serious edge. Season 1 featured a breakout performance from Jimmy Tatro as a high school student who took the fall for a vandalism incident he claimed he had no part in and wanted to prove his innocence.
Nearly a decade later, Tatro finds himself in a similar position as he teams up with Perrault and Yacenda once again to voice Grodd for DC Studios. And as Perrault explained in an interview with The Direct earlier this year, he and the rest of the creative team are excited to get the most out of their cast and work on a project with no equal in the superhero 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."
