Despite the setback of Supergirl’s critical and box office failure, James Gunn’s new DCU is not about to shut down over one flop. Via a report from Deadline, it looks like the Jimmy Olsen-centric “DC Crime” series for HBO Max is still chugging along, even though it doesn’t have an official greenlight from Warner Bros. yet. But it appears it has already cast one of its primary characters, as actor Jimmy Tatro, most recently seen inScream 7, will play the part of arch-villain Gorilla Grodd. The hyper-intelligent ape has been a mainstay DC Comics bad guy for several decades. The show, should it get the greenlight, will start shooting soon.
DC Crime comes from Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, creators of Netflix’s American Vandal series. That true-crime satire series ran from 2017 to 2018. They’ll both write, executive produce, and serve as series showrunners. From all reports, this show will retain a similar mockumentary format, focusing on the life and crimes of one particular villain, told through the reporting of Daily Planet journalist Jimmy Olsen. Skyler Gisondo will reprise his role from last year’s Superman. One would imagine if the series gets another season, the focus would shift to a different villain. In an enormous show of restraint, the series did not start out with a Batman villain, focusing instead on Gorilla Grodd.
In DC Comics, Gorilla Grodd is a telepathic ape with a genius-level intellect. He’s been one of the Flash’s main bad guys since Flash #106 in 1959. He hails from the hidden Gorilla City, a society of intelligent apes in Africa. All of whom are peaceful and advanced, except for Grodd, who wishes to conquer humanity. In animation, Grodd became iconic thanks to his Legion of Doom membership onSuper Friends, and later, Justice League.A version of Gorilla Grodd also became a primary antagonist for Barry Allen on the CW The Flashseries. The character appeared in Creature Commandos, confirming his existence in the DCU. Now, it remains to be seen if his arch-nemesis, the Flash, appears in this series. It’s hard to imagine Gorilla Grodd without his main squeeze.
