We’ve known about a unique puppetry/animation combo film coming from DC Studios for some time. It will focus on Batman’s first two Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, and is aptly titled Dynamic Duo. But, until now, there were few details about what the story would focus on. At the Annecy Festival, Warner Bros. revealed that the film would take a new approach to the origin stories of these two iconic heroes, changing it up from their DC Comics lore.
In this version, Dick and Jason are “street rats” together (like Aladdin?) who call themselves the Dynamic Duo. But eventually, the two go in very different directions. Dick starts working for Batman, while Jason ends up in the Red Hood gang. The two friends then wind up on opposing forces in Gotham City.
Some of this tracks with DC Comics history. Jason Todd as a street-kid orphan is very much part of Batman lore. However, Dick Grayson was a circus acrobat of some acclaim before his parents were murdered, and Bruce Wayne adopted him. This synopsis does not sound like they are sticking to that. Although we suppose that he could still have been a circus kid who lost his folks, and wound up on the street. The use of the Red Hood Gang also implies that the Joker will be a part of this story. Before he became the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker was part of that criminal gang. The Joker famously killed Jason Todd when he was Robin, only for him to come back years later as the Red Hood.
We imagine at some point in the movie, Jason will turn on the gang and join the side of the good guys as a more heroic Red Hood. At first, there was some speculation that this movie would take place in the DCU. But it seems James Gunn has debunked that, maintaining that this is its own standalone story. So when Dick Grayson does appear in the DCU, probably as Nightwing, it will likely be a more traditional version. Dynamic Duo currently has a release date of June 30, 2028. Although given the complicated productions for animated projects, we suspect that the release date is not firm. We’ll have to wait and see.