First Look at ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd’ Set Reveals Skylar Gisondo and Eduardo Franco

DC Studios has spent the past year showcasing its willingness to embrace the unconventional in its television lineup, and its upcoming project may be its boldest yet. Following the positive reception of ‘Lanterns’ earlier this year, the studio is now focusing on a true-crime mockumentary centered around one of Superman’s most unexpected villains.

This series is ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd,’ an eight-episode half-hour comedy produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television that expands the Daily Planet segment of the DC Universe first introduced in James Gunn’s ‘Superman.’ Skyler Gisondo reprises his role as Jimmy Olsen, this time swapping his reporter duties for a role as an amateur documentarian investigating a murder case.

Recent set photos have provided fans with their clearest glimpse of the production, featuring Gisondo alongside newcomer Eduardo Franco on location. Additional images depict a placeholder figure representing Gorilla Grodd, as the character is expected to be created entirely through CGI once the series is finished. This figure is merely used for blocking and lighting during filming.

Franco, recognized for his role in ‘Stranger Things,’ is widely speculated to be portraying Matter-Eater Lad based on circulating footage from the set, although his role has yet to be officially confirmed. He joins a cast that features Mary Holland, Arian Moayed, series co-creator Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz, all in undisclosed roles.

The show’s premise intentionally embraces absurdity. According to its official logline, Gorilla Grodd has already been convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City, and Jimmy Olsen reopens the case for an in-world true-crime docuseries to investigate whether Grodd was wrongfully convicted in one of Metropolis’s most notorious murder trials.

This structure is crafted by ‘American Vandal’ creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, who serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers, with Yacenda directing all eight episodes. The format mirrors their previous work on ‘American Vandal,’ which utilized interview segments, evidence boards, and serious narration to explore deliberately absurd fictional crimes.

Jimmy Tatro stars as Gorilla Grodd himself, reuniting with Franco after they previously collaborated on the first season of ‘American Vandal.’ The returning ‘Superman’ cast also includes Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce reprising his role as Daily Planet editor Perry White.

James Gunn and Peter Safran expressed their excitement for greenlighting the project in a statement shared with Variety, noting that they recognized the chemistry among the Daily Planet cast made this segment of the DCU worth further exploration. They added that pairing Perrault and Yacenda with the material would allow them to delve into darker and funnier aspects of Metropolis through Jimmy’s documentarian perspective.

This endorsement comes amid genuine momentum for DC Studios’ expanding television offerings. With ‘Lanterns’ already delivering a strong premiere for the studio earlier this year, ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd’ represents a distinct kind of gamble, shifting from cosmic stakes and superhero spectacle to a mockumentary satire of the DCU’s criminal justice system.

Filming is currently taking place in the Atlanta area, with production reportedly utilizing the Georgia Tech campus to represent parts of Metropolis. While no release date has been announced yet, with production progressing and new footage consistently appearing online, fans can expect to see just how bizarre this corner of the DCU is willing to become.

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