James Gunn and Matt Reeves are Giving the “Worst” Robin His Due

The new DC Universe gets more interesting by the day. Though James Gunn and Peter Safran are working towards a somewhat streamlined cinematic timeline, that hasn’t stopped Gunn from exploring new ideas outside of that continuity. While the new DCU is very much its own thing, Matt Reeves’ The Batman will sire a parallel universe all its own, with The Penguin, The Batman II, and a few future spin-offs building a new Bat-verse. Gunn and Reeves will also be teaming up to produce an animated film outside both continuities, creating yet another timeline for the Bat-family.

Gunn broke the news on Twitter. “Over the moon excited to announce the newest DC Studios/Warner Bros Pictures Animation greenlit film for theaters, Dynamic Duo,” Gunn said. The project will tell “the story of Robin… or should I say, Robins, as in Dick Grayson and Jason Todd.”

Per Variety, the film will explore a new origin for the Robins, reintroducing them as childhood friends whose bond is “tested by their diverging ideas for what their future should be.” It’ll be an interesting departure from the comics, as these two characters don’t typically share many adventures. More importantly, though, Dynamic Duo could serve as a long-overdue rehabilitation for Jason Todd, whose reputation in the DCU has always been shaky.

Jason isn’t the most popular version of Robin. He inherited the mantle from Dick in 1983, and his tenure as Batman’s new Boy Wonder was almost unanimously reviled. It didn’t help that early Batman stories made him a carbon copy of Dick Grayson, right down to his past as a circus performer. 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths mercifully reset his origins, but Jason still struggled to carve out his own space in Batman’s world... and gain goodwill from comic fans.

The resistance to Jason reached its zenith in 1988, when audiences were allowed to vote, American Idol-style, on whether he would live or die. Fans called for the character’s demise, and in A Death in the Family, they got their wish. In an infamous storyline, Jason is kidnapped by the Joker, badly beaten, and later killed in an explosion. It’s a brutal fate for a kid, although it did pave the way for Jason to return as the Red Hood. He’s better known now as a vigilante who will do what Batman (and occasionally, Nightwing) can’t, but he’s still regarded as the “weakest” foil to the Dark Knight.

Could an animated film help Jason get a fresh start? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to see the character in a new light, though it’s important to note that Dynamic Duo won’t be canon to either Gunn’s DCU or Reeves’ Bat-verse. Optimistically, the film could be DC’s answer to something like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, an animated story that gives an underrated character the platform they deserve. Time will tell, but based on the team that’s been assembled, Dynamic Duo at least sounds promising.

Notably, Dynamic Duo will be the first feature-length project for Swaybox Studios, a Louisiana-based company specializing in animation and puppetry. Per Gunn, the film will be “a mix of animation, puppetry, and CGI,” which isn’t easy to picture. Still, the project is in good hands with Gunn and Reeves producing. Matthew Aldrich, the screenwriter behind Pixar’s Coco, will also pen the script, so we may have to break out the tissues too.