Is the world getting tired of superhero fatigue? Despite often being told that people are growing fed up of comic book movies, more keep coming all the time. In fact, right now the medium might be in ruder health than ever. Marvel‘s Deadpool & Wolverine is likely to remain the highest-grossing live-action film of the year, and 2025 will deliver the much-anticipated reboot of the DC universe, kicking off with James Gunn’s Superman.
Speaking of, Gunn’s DCU looks to be putting the MCU to shame by immediately going to places Marvel Studios has never dared in what’s getting on for 20 years. Namely, animated movies. This week brought the exciting news that DC Studios is moving forward with a new project titled Dynamic Duo, an animated film focusing on Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, the two first incarnations of Robin in Batman canon.
According to an early synopsis, Dynamic Duo “will depict how the friendship between Grayson and Todd as youths becomes tested by their diverging ideas for what their future should be.” Matt Reeves is on board to produce alongside Gunn, but it’s been confirmed that it will not be part of The Batman/The Penguin universe. At this time, though, it’s unknown if Dynamic Duo will share continuity with the mainstream DCU and the upcoming Batman reboot, The Brave and the Bold.
The most interesting thing about the movie, however, is how it will brought to life, which suggests that Marvel really might want to get a move on if it wants to keep up with the competition.
DC’s Dynamic Duo movie means that the MCU needs to embrace a whole new medium
As per Variety, Dynamic Duo will be realized by New Orleans-based animation company Swaybox, and directed and produced by husband-wife filmmaking team Arthur Mintz and Theresa Andersson. What’s notable about Swaybox is that they employ a unique form of animation that combines puppetry with “a hybrid of live-action motion capture, stop-motion animation and CG animation.” Dynamic Duo is said to be on a scale way beyond anything Swaybox has done before.
In this way, DC’s newest project echoes Sony’s own efforts to push the boundaries with its Spider-Verse films, which likewise have pioneered a blend of various eye-popping animation styles. Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s franchise has been universally praised for being two of the most inventive and artful superhero movies ever made, and all signs are pointing to Dynamic Duo following suit. Marvel, meanwhile, has no theatrical animated productions on its slate.
That’s despite X-Men ’97, the recent X-Men: The Animated Series revival, standing as the MCU’s highest-rated project on Rotten Tomatoes for the entire Multiverse Saga. Clearly, it would behoove Marvel to look into making its own original animated feature, especially in the face of growing accusations that its house style has become a little formulaic and predictable. With a third Spider-Verse film on the way and DC transforming into a real rival at last, Marvel is at genuine risk of going from today’s champion to yesterday’s news.