Well, this could be fun. Deadline reports that DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation are developing Dynamic Duo, an origin movie which follows the early days of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, two characters who held the mantle of Robin. The project will use a technology called Momo Animation, which is said to be a cross between stop-motion puppetry, CGI animation, and live-action real-time performance. I’m intrigued. It’s said that the technique is “visually breathtaking, dynamically expressive, and more human.“
Dynamic Duo will be made by Swaybox, a new animation studio set up by Arthur Mintz and Theresa Andersson. The film “follows the early days of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd aka the Robins. The duo call themselves the Dynamic Duo. They’re orphan thieves, best friends who share dreams of a better life, but their friendship will be tested by competing visions of a future out of which will come a new Dynamic Duo….” Mintz will direct the movie from a script by Matthew Aldrich.
Swaybox was the studio behind the viral NFL Superbowl LVI commercial directed by Peter Berg in 2022. You can check out a behind-the-scenes video of the process right here.
James Gunn, Peter Safran, Theresa Andersson, and Matt Reeves will produce the project. In a statement, Reeves said, “I have wanted to make a film with Arthur and Swaybox for many years, and for that film to be Dynamic Duo, an incredibly special and unique Batman and Robin story for families, is a dream.” Despite Reeves’ involvement, it should be noted that the project isn’t connected to The Batman or The Penguin canon.
Gunn took to social media to offer his own statement. “Over the moon excited to announce the newest DC Studios/Warner Bros Pictures Animation greenlit film for theaters, DYNAMIC DUO, the story of Robin… or should I say, Robins, as in Dick Grayson and Jason Todd,” Gunn wrote. “The first feature film from the visionary Swaybox, a mix of animation, puppetry, and CGI, a script from the wonderfully talented Matt Aldrich, produced with our partners at Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho. This is something special.“