The DC Universe has an officially confirmed show on the way starring one major Flash comic villain, which is sure to be a unique and unusual release for new and old DC fans alike. The DC Universe timeline has already taken itself off the beaten path more than once with its current release slate, having unveiled both Creature Commandos season 1 and Peacemaker season 2 as some of its earliest installments.
This has given it a very different vibe to previous DC cinematic worlds, but this appears to at least be in part the point, with upcoming DCU releases like Clayface and Lanterns being all the more interesting because they explore movie and show avenues that have generally not been delved into in the manner the DC Universe promises to.
That same setup promises to be the case for another upcoming DC Universe show, since one of the franchise’s impending shows is set to center around a notable Flash villain – which is a premise that immediately builds up considerable intrigue for the story that’s yet to come here, particularly given we haven’t actually had any version of the Flash themselves appear in the flesh on-screen in the franchise quite yet.
James Gunn’s Latest DCU Confirmations Prove Gorilla Grodd Has An Upcoming Show
Word that a Jimmy Olsen DCU show was on the horizon had been provided many months ago, and makes sense for the franchise given Olsen’s introduction in Superman, allowing a series involving the character to flesh out more about the universe via Olsen’s own investigative adventures.
What may have come as slightly more of a surprise to audiences is that the show has recently been confirmed by DC Studios co-CEO and Superman writer and director James Gunn to be a “Jimmy Olsen AND a Gorilla Grodd show“, with Gunn also mentioning on Threads that filming for the project was set to start soon.
While Gorilla Grodd was provisionally introduced as part of the DCU in Creature Commandos, the character only had a very brief role in its proceedings, making his new role as one half of the upcoming series – which James Gunn has also mentioned is notably a live-action story (also on Threads) – all the more interesting. Crucially, this means the Flash villain will get his own series before the DCU has introduced its own Flash, which is surreal to note given the hero’s prominence in the wider DC lore.
Why Gorilla Grodd Has A DCU TV Show Before The Flash Has Even Debuted
Conventionally, the approach to making interconnected DC universes has been to focus on introducing heroes before then bringing in their villains and building out from there – which both the Arrowverse timeline and the DCEU timeline followed loyally to some great effect, and has been shown to work similarly with Marvel counterpart the MCU.
However, the predominance of superhero franchises means this approach is also one audiences are used to now to the point of arguably growing somewhat jaded with it, since it does make for a more predictable journey when repeated several times for several different worlds over the course of the last decade or two.
As such, the DC Universe taking a different avenue by bringing characters like Gorilla Grodd in before the Flash – and waiting seemingly longer to bring some DC staples into the franchise proper – does seem as though it could pay off for the DCU, and keep audiences on their toes while showing them a different side to the world than has been witnessed in other on-screen iterations of the iconic franchise.