James Gunn Finally Confirms a Key Detail About Jimmy Olsen’s DCU Series
James Gunn just confirmed a major piece of the puzzle for the DCU’s Jimmy Olsen series, a Superman spin-off starring Skyler Gisondo — but story details and a release date are still under wraps.
File this under 'DC projects that aren’t Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman': James Gunn has finally cleared up some confusion about that mysterious new series starring Jimmy Olsen in the rebooted DC Universe. You know, the one with Skyler Gisondo (probably best known for The Righteous Gemstones, here playing Superman’s buddy, the Daily Planet's resident selfie-taker)? Well, here’s what we know—and what some folks have been getting weirdly twisted about.
What Is the Jimmy Olsen Series Actually About?
Truth is, plot details are being kept on lockdown. DC and Gunn are playing this one close to the chest. We know Jimmy played a big supporting role in the new David Corenswet-led Superman movie, and that the Olsen series spins out from there. The show will focus on Jimmy and the rest of the Daily Planet reporters as they dive into cases that get them tangled up with supervillains—including Gorilla Grodd, who most fans will recognize as one of The Flash’s talking, telepathic, evil gorillas rather than a Superman adversary. Yeah, it sounds a little wild.
Animated or Live-Action? Here’s the Straight Answer
So here’s where things got messy: Out of nowhere, a rumor popped up that the Jimmy Olsen show was going to be animated. One fan on Threads even asked James Gunn straight-up whether Jimmy’s classic signal watch (the device he uses to call Superman for help in the comics) would pop up in the 'animated' series.
Gunn’s response was about as blunt as it gets:
'(It’s not).'
In other words: not animated, folks. This one’s live-action. (As for the signal watch, he’s keeping quiet on whether that classic prop will make an appearance.)
About That Rumored Title...
You might’ve seen 'DC Crime' floating around as a possible title. That’s…not it. Gunn hopped onto Threads to firmly say that neither 'DC Crime' nor anything close was ever a working title anywhere in development. How this rumor got started is anybody’s guess (it’s the internet), but Gunn’s cleared that up. The show does have an official title, just not one they’re ready to share yet—according to co-creator Dan Perrault, it’s also absolutely not called 'Untitled Jimmy Olsen Show'.
Who’s Behind the Series?
- Writers/Showrunners: Dan Perrault & Tony Yacenda (the duo behind American Vandal, which means they know their way around a mockumentary)
- Executive Producers: James Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran, alongside Perrault & Yacenda
- Star: Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen—already introduced in Gunn’s new Superman reboot
What’s Next?
The important stuff: there’s no official release date yet, and honestly, if you look at the way DC rolls, that means it could pop up…whenever. The show is still untitled, and details are mostly locked up tight, but you can bet that with this creative team we’ll get something that’s at least weird and probably very funny. If you wanted more of the Daily Planet gang doing something other than standing around in the background, this one’s on your radar.
TL;DR: Jimmy Olsen’s series is live-action, not animated, there’s no 'DC Crime', and Gorilla Grodd might just be about to make your favorite cub reporter’s life a lot more complicated. More on this as it develops.