DC Studios Announces Gorilla Grodd as the Villain of the Next Superman Spinoff Series

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DC Studios has chosen Gorilla Grodd to be the central villain in an upcoming Superman spin-off series, which is shaping up to be one of their most ambitious projects for HBO Max. James Gunn’s DC Universe is already establishing key supervillains, beginning with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman and continuing next year with the introduction of Sinestro, played by Ulrich Thomsen, in Lanterns.

Viewers are eager to see villains connected to other Justice League heroes like The Flash, Aquaman, and Batman, but their introductions haven’t happened yet. Although Wonder Woman’s story is still being developed, one of her enemies, Circe, appeared in Creature Commandos and hinted at the arrival of Gorilla Grodd, a villain from The Flash’s stories, who will now appear in a future spin-off series about Superman.

DC Studios is developing a new Superman TV series focusing on Jimmy Olsen, played by Skyler Gisondo, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show will be created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda, who are known for the series American Vandal, and is likely to stream on HBO Max.

According to Variety, a new true crime docuseries called DC Crime is coming to the DC Universe, and it will be hosted by Olsen. The first season will focus on one of The Flash’s most notorious enemies: Gorilla Grodd.

Gorilla Grodd is an incredibly intelligent gorilla with powerful telepathic abilities, which he developed after being exposed to radiation from a meteorite. He’s best known as an enemy of The Flash and has appeared in live-action form on The CW’s Arrowverse shows.

The Flash made his first appearance in the DC Universe in the series Creature Commandos. A vision from Circe showed a dark future where he and other heroes were killed. In this possible timeline, Grodd appeared to have won, working with the army of Pokolistan and Princess Illana Rostovic. However, this future was likely avoided when The Bride assassinated Princess Illana in the finale of the HBO Max series.

Following his popular debut in Superman, photographer Olsen—known for his unexpected romantic side—is getting his own series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show will feature other characters from the Daily Planet newspaper, but won’t include Superman (David Corenswet) or Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). They’ll be investigating cases involving people with superpowers.

I’m really excited about DC Crime, but honestly, we don’t have a firm release date yet. As of now, Skyler Gisondo is the only actor confirmed to be in it. It’s still early days in development, but the current thinking is it might land on HBO Max sometime around 2027. Fingers crossed!

‘DC Crime’ Sets Up Major Gorilla Grodd Role in James Gunn’s Plans

The series DC Crime will focus on the Daily Planet staff investigating Gorilla Grodd’s actions within the DC Universe, rather than having a hero directly confront him. Taking down a villain like Grodd would require a major Justice League hero – someone like The Flash, who isn’t currently part of this universe.

James Gunn has stated that we shouldn’t expect to see The Flash in a significant role for at least two years, making a major appearance unlikely. However, fans might still see quick glimpses of the character – a flash of red or a streak of lightning – from time to time.

Following a brief appearance in Creature Commandos and a more prominent role in DC Crime, many fans are speculating about Gorilla Grodd’s larger importance to the overall DC Universe storyline, which seems to be unfolding with a true-crime format. These ideas were strengthened when James Gunn publicly expressed his fondness for Grodd and hinted at “plans” for the Flash’s enemy.

James Gunn hinted that his most anticipated DC Studios project was a secret HBO Max series because the idea was so innovative, it would be easy for others to steal (according to Entertainment Weekly). Now, it appears this project was likely DC Crime, a series with a distinctive true crime documentary format that Marvel Studios might be tempted to imitate.

The idea is certainly interesting, particularly because it comes from the team behind the Emmy-nominated show American Vandal. If DC Crime does well, it has the potential to run for many years, focusing on different villains, heroes, and stories from the DC universe.

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2025-11-11 02:35