The DC Universe is getting weird.
The People v. Gorilla Grodd, the bizarre Superman spinoff starring Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, has officially wrapped filming and is now moving into post-production.
Collider reported that Gisondo confirmed production had finished, while also teasing that the series takes an approach to the DC Universe that audiences haven’t seen before.
That’s fitting for a show whose premise sounds unlike anything else currently coming out of DC.
Jimmy Olsen Is Investigating Gorilla Grodd
The eight-episode HBO Max comedy is structured like a true-crime documentary, with Jimmy Olsen investigating one of Metropolis’ strangest murder cases.
Gorilla Grodd, the superintelligent ape, has been convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Jimmy isn’t convinced the case is that simple, so he reopens the investigation to determine whether Grodd was actually responsible.
The series comes from Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators behind American Vandal, which should give viewers a pretty good idea of the mockumentary style they’re going for. Yacenda is directing all eight episodes.
Gisondo is returning as Jimmy after playing the character in James Gunn’s Superman. Jimmy Tatro will play Gorilla Grodd, while Beck Bennett, Mikaela Hoover and Wendell Pierce are also returning as Steve Lombard, Cat Grant and Perry White, respectively.
It Could Be Very Different From Superman
That’s part of what makes the project so interesting.
Rather than simply giving Jimmy Olsen another traditional superhero adventure, The People v. Gorilla Grodd is being presented as a documentary that exists within the DC Universe itself. The filmmakers have described it as something that should feel like an actual Daily Planet production made for the people of Metropolis.
Gisondo previously told Collider that the mockumentary format was one of the things that attracted him to the project. He said he had never seen anything quite like a true-crime mockumentary set inside a superhero world.
And now that filming is finished, DC fans are one step closer to seeing whether that unusual idea actually works.
When Will The People v. Gorilla Grodd Be Released?
There’s still no exact premiere date for the series.
HBO Max ordered the show straight to series in August, with eight half-hour episodes planned. James Gunn and Peter Safran are executive producers alongside Yacenda and Perrault.
For now, The People v. Gorilla Grodd is simply another sign that Gunn’s DC Universe isn’t afraid to take some very unexpected swings.
A true-crime comedy about Jimmy Olsen investigating whether a superpowered gorilla murdered his own father certainly qualifies.
