The long-rumored Jimmy Olsen project at DC Studios is finally moving from rumor to reality, and it is bringing one of the most underused heavy hitters in the DC catalog along with it. Co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed during the Brazilian premiere of Supergirl that the Gorilla Grodd series will begin filming this year, then caught himself mid-sentence and admitted he probably should not have said it out loud.
That slip is the first concrete production update on a show that has been talked about in pieces for months. Originally reported as DC Crime, the project is now believed to be titled American Villain, a knowing nod to the mockumentary that put its creators on the map.
A True-Crime Show Inside the DCU
The premise is the most interesting part. This is not a standard superhero series. It is a fictional true-crime docuseries set inside the DC Universe, hosted by Jimmy Olsen, played by Skyler Gisondo, who reprises the role from Superman. The framing means we learn about these villains the same way Olsen does, by following the leads, the interviews, and the case files he puts together as a Daily Planet reporter.
Season one centers on Gorilla Grodd as its subject. That is a key distinction worth repeating, because Safran calling it “the Gorilla Grodd show” caused some confusion that there were two competing projects. There is only one. Olsen is the host and through-line, and Grodd is the first big villain profiled. The format is built to run as an anthology, with each season turning its attention to a different DC villain.
That structure does a lot of quiet work for the wider DCU. It is a low-stakes, high-personality way to introduce characters who might otherwise need a full film or series to set up. If the show profiles villains season by season, the door is open for figures like Ultra-Humanite or Vandal Savage to surface in later runs, which would start building a deep bench of antagonists without forcing every introduction into a tentpole release.
The Creative Team Signals the Tone
American Villain comes from Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators of American Vandal, who are writing, showrunning, and executive producing. James Gunn and Peter Safran executive produce, with Warner Bros. Television as the studio.
That pairing tells you what to expect. American Vandal earned a Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination by playing the true-crime docuseries format completely straight while telling a ridiculous story underneath it. Bringing that same deadpan, investigative energy to a metahuman world is a real tonal swing for DC, and it positions the show as something separate from the usual cape fare. Reports also indicate that Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane and David Corenswet’s Clark Kent will not be part of the series, which keeps the focus on Olsen and the newsroom rather than leaning on Superman’s leads.
Why Grodd Matters More Than He Looks
Gorilla Grodd is a super-intelligent ape with super strength, super speed, telepathy, and telekinesis. He was created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino and debuted in The Flash #106 in May 1959, and he ranks among the most recognizable villains in the publisher’s history.
The important detail is that Grodd is a Flash villain. He is one of the Scarlet Speedster’s signature foes, and it is hard to tell a complete Grodd story without the Flash entering the picture at some point. After the 2023 Flash film underperformed, DC Studios has been in no hurry to announce new Flash-centric projects, which makes a Grodd series a quietly clever way to keep that corner of the universe warm. Grodd has already appeared in the DCU once, in a brief moment in the animated Creature Commandos, so this is an elevation from background player to full antagonist rather than a cold introduction.
How It Connects to the Bigger Picture
The villain-of-the-season model also fits neatly into where the DCU appears to be heading. If the show keeps introducing antagonists and the DCU keeps them around rather than killing them off, all those characters need somewhere to go. That is where a concept like Sanctuary, the prison planet for villains, becomes useful, and it is easy to see how a steady supply of profiled villains could eventually feed into something like Peacemaker’s corner of the universe or a Checkmate operation.
Safran’s Supergirl press run produced more than one revelation along these lines. He also confirmed that the Batman project, The Brave and the Bold, is still moving forward, and there has been fresh talk of a Justice League project that had not been previously discussed in detail. Taken together, it paints a picture of a DCU being built across film, animation, and now mockumentary-style television, with smaller shows like this one doing the connective work between the larger swings.
If filming starts this year as Safran indicated, American Villain could realistically land on HBO Max sometime in 2027 or early 2028. For now, the title is unconfirmed and plenty of details remain in flux, but the most important question has an answer. The cameras are about to roll.
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