DC’s upcoming animated Batman-and-Robin feature Dynamic Duo has locked in four key voice roles—Mason Thames, Logan Kim, Lee Pace, and Steve Buscemi—while the identity of its Caped Crusader remains the one tantalizing secret DC isn’t ready to share. The project is positioned as a character-driven exploration of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd’s formative years, even as reports circulate that a major A-list name is circling the Batman role.
Dynamic Duo is being produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation as an “Elseworlds” story, meaning it sits outside James Gunn’s tightly coordinated DC Universe that now spans film and television. The movie was recently delayed and is now slated for a September 22, 2028 release, shifted from an earlier June 2028 date as DC reshuffles its post-Superman slate. That broader lineup has already seen highs and lows in 2026: Gunn’s Superman reignited interest in the DCU, while Supergirl stumbled at the box office, even as HBO’s Lanterns series turned into a breakout streaming hit and projects like the horror-leaning Clayface and the sequel Man of Tomorrow build toward a more diverse Gotham on screen.
The breakout name in the casting announcement is Mason Thames, who will voice Dick Grayson, the first Robin and future Nightwing. Thames has been on genre fans’ radar since his turn in the horror hit The Black Phone, and he’s also leading the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, with a sequel already in the works. Shortly after the casting news surfaced, Thames shared a photo of a bag stuffed with Nightwing-centric comics, a wink that immediately fueled speculation he could eventually play an older Dick Grayson in live action as well. That possibility dovetails with Gunn’s stated goal of having DCU actors inhabit their characters across animation and live action, even though Dynamic Duo itself has been described as operating outside that main continuity.
Joining Thames is Logan Kim as Jason Todd, the second Robin who famously grows into the violent anti-hero Red Hood. Kim is best known to genre audiences for his fan-favorite role “Podcast” in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and its sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, along with his turn in The Walking Dead: Dead City. Early reporting describes Dynamic Duo as focusing on a younger Dick and Jason, leaning into their fraught friendship and the combustible differences that eventually push Todd toward a darker path. That Red Hood connection will be literal here: Lee Pace and Steve Buscemi have been cast as members of the Red Hood Gang, voicing the intriguingly named Red Hood One and Red Hood Two, setting the stage for a multi-layered take on one of Batman’s most enduring urban legends.
For Batfamily diehards, there’s more simmering beneath the surface. Multiple reports indicate that Marsai Martin has been tapped to voice Barbara Gordon, adding Batgirl to the mix and hinting that Dynamic Duo may quietly assemble most of Gotham’s young vigilantes in one go. The biggest piece still missing is Batman himself: industry scoops say Chris Pine has been offered the role of Bruce Wayne, but sources stress that no deal has been finalized, which explains why DC is keeping the announcement holstered. If Pine does don the animated cowl, it would give DC a headliner with deep geek-culture cred thanks to Star Trek and his past DC tenure in Wonder Woman, making the project instantly more visible to mainstream audiences.
Even as it sits outside the core DCU, Dynamic Duo slots neatly into DC’s larger strategy of using animation and Elseworlds projects to test darker or more niche corners of its mythology without disrupting the mainline continuity. With Gunn’s live-action The Brave and the Bold set to introduce Damian Wayne as Robin V, fans have noticed that the earlier Robins—Dick, Jason, and Tim—need to be fleshed out somewhere if the DCU is going to feel like a lived-in Gotham. By centering Dick and Jason and surrounding them with figures like Barbara and the Red Hood Gang, Dynamic Duo effectively builds a Batfamily blueprint that future films and series can either echo or deliberately contrast. Whether or not Mason Thames and Logan Kim eventually cross over into live action, their casting signals DC’s intent to treat its young heroes as long-term investments, not just sidekicks—leaving fans to watch closely as the studio decides which versions of these characters become canon in the years leading up to 2028.
