Mason Thames Cast as Robin in DC's Dynamic Duo Movie, DC Studios Boss Says Actor Is 'Obsessed' With the Role

How to Train Your Dragon star Mason Thames has been cast as Dick Grayson/Robin in DC's upcoming Dynamic Duo movie.

via: Collider

The Boy Wonder is headed to the big screen in the new DC Studios movie Dynamic Duo, which will bring its characters to life with an innovative new type of puppetry. And now, after much speculation, we finally have official word on who will be voicing Dick Grayson. Collider's Steve Weintraub caught up with DC Studios co-chairman Peter Safran for Clayface and got an update.

Safran discussed the film, the title of which refers to "Jason Todd and Dick Grayson, and I think that there's a great story to be told here" — they're Batman's first two Robins, and their stories diverged in dramatic ways in DC Comics. In the comics, Dick was an orphaned circus performer, while Jason had a hard-scrabble life on the mean streets of Gotham City before Batman took him in. While few details have been revealed about the plot of the film, it is expected that the two will begin as friends before their lives diverge drastically, taking them down different paths. It's set to hit theaters on September 22, 2028.

Safran confirms that Mason Thames, the star of The Black Phone and How to Train Your Dragon, will voice Grayson, the first boy to don the mask and cape of Robin. Thames turned out to be an eager recruit to the world of DC Comics, Safran told Collider:

"We always talk about wanting volunteers and not recruits to be part of the DCU, to be part of DC Studios, and Mason always wanted to be Dick Grayson. He just did. And he came in, and auditioned the s*** out of it, and was awesome. He's a wonderful young actor, but boy, did he want this. He was just obsessed. When he came over to the DC offices, he came over with his dad at the time, and we’ve got tons of great archives and stuff in there, and wanted to take a picture of everything and with everything. He's a fan."

Safran was also effusive about the puppetry that's being used to bring Dynamic Duo to life, courtesy of Swaybox Studios, the New Orleans-based studio that pioneered it. Swaybox uses a combination of computer imagery, stop-motion animation, and real-time puppetry to create a wholly original new type of animation that will finally be revealed when Dynamic Duo hits theaters in 2028. Swaybox co-founders Arthur Mintz and Theresa Anderson will direct and produce the movie, respectively, and Safran is excited for audiences to see what they've created.

"I think that the Swaybox technology is as original today as Pixar was when it did Toy Story. I really think it's that different from anything that's come before it. Even though it's puppets with an overlay of CGI, the fact that it's shot with real cameras brings a visceral nature to the action in a way that I don't think animation itself ever can really capture. I am really, really excited for people to witness what Arthur [Mintz] and Theresa [Andersson], who are the Swaybox founders, have come up with. I think it's really unusual and cool, and it’s a great way to tell a story."

And while it's currently a time-consuming process, the technology is progressing faster as it goes along. Safran is confident that the studio's next feature will be a much smoother ride. "I think, like all new technologies, it'll become faster after you’ve R&D'd the whole process, the whole production stream. I think that it won't take as long next time around," said Safran.