Josh Hutcherson’s TV show role just earned him a James Gunn DCU welcome

Big news for DC animation fans (and anyone keeping tally on how many universes James Gunn is now prodding). James Gunn has given his official stamp of approval to Josh Hutcherson and Mackenzie Davis, revealing they’re taking on two rather hefty roles in the upcoming Mister Miracle animated series for DC Studios. If you’re slightly confused about the expanding DC telly universe — you’re honestly not alone — but this one has some interesting bits worth picking apart.

The Cast and the Characters

The short version: Josh Hutcherson is set to voice Mister Miracle himself (Scott Free to his mates), while Mackenzie Davis is on board as Big Barda. Both of them have some rather big shoes — and in Barda’s case, probably armour — to fill. Gunn made the casting public via a social media blast, complete with new promotional art where the pair are pictured in front of what can only be described as a very DC-style explosion.

Welcoming Josh Hutcherson as Mister Miracle and Mackenzie Davis as Big Barda in @TomKingTK’s forthcoming animated DCU series from DC Studios and @WB_Animation, #MisterMiracle.

Gunn didn’t spill the beans on when the show is landing, but the new images definitely lean into the bombast and slightly bonkers cosmic scale you’d expect from a Mister Miracle adaptation.

The Series: What’s Actually Going On?

The show itself was announced back in June 2025 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival — so it’s been brewing for a while. Tom King, who wrote the excellent 12-issue run in the comics (with artist Mitch Gerads), is scripting all eight episodes here. If you know King’s work, expect lots of weirdness, big existential questions, and moments where the superheroics sometimes take a back seat to characters being slightly miserable — in the best way.

The core of the series centres on Scott Free, known as Mister Miracle, who bills himself as the universe’s greatest escape artist, and his equally formidable wife, Big Barda. Scott’s backstory is packed with science-fantasy nonsense: he’s the adopted son of Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips and a sort of intergalactic fascist (which, depending on the angle you take, makes family dinners complicated). Details on how large a presence Darkseid will have in the show — or what, exactly, he’s up to this time — still aren’t entirely clear, so expect more info on the Big Bad down the line.

DCU Animation: The Bigger Picture

Here’s where it gets a bit meta. This Mister Miracle show isn’t a standalone; it’s actually the second animated series to take place in the present DC Universe, following on from Creature Commandos (which did well enough for DC to greenlight a second go). There’s also a new Blue Beetle animated series on the way, with Xolo Maridueña continuing his run following Man of Tomorrow. Point is, DC’s finally going hard with connecting their animation to the bigger cinematic game. (Whether that’s a good idea or total chaos, time will tell.)

Mister Miracle is aiming to drop in 2028, but a concrete release date hasn’t yet surfaced.

Distinction worth noting: this whole shared-universe business does not cover all DC’s cartoon output. There are still stand-alone animated hits like Harley Quinn and Batman: Caped Crusader, running entirely outside the DCU continuity. Gunn’s spoken before about his plan to have the same actors voice and portray these characters in both animation and live-action — but no word yet on whether that’s true for Hutcherson and Davis in flesh-and-blood projects down the line.

• Josh Hutcherson: Mister Miracle (Scott Free)
• Mackenzie Davis: Big Barda
• Tom King: Writer of all eight episodes, adapting his graphic novel
• Release window: Expected in 2028, specific date TBA
• Series length: Eight episodes