DC Studios’ Dynamic Duo has found its Dick Grayson in Mason Thames. The film combines CGI animation with puppetry to tell a story about Batman’s first two Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. Thames, the 19-year-old actor from The Black Phone and How to Train Your Dragon, will voice Dick alongside Ghostbusters: Afterlife star Logan Kim, previously cast as Jason.
In an interview covered by Collider, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran confirmed the casting. Safran described Thames as a huge DC Comics fan, especially of Nightwing, the identity Grayson adopts after being Robin.
“Mason always wanted to be Dick Grayson. He just did,” Safran said. Recalling the actor’s audition and how much he wanted the part, Safran said Thames arrived and “Auditioned the s*** out of it. 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 he wanted to take a picture of everything and with everything. He’s a fan.”
Directed by Arthur Mintz, Dynamic Duo puts the two Robin characters, rather than Batman, at the center of its story. Few details have been announced beyond that pairing, the mix of animation and puppetry, and a theatrical release scheduled for September 2028.
Unlike Creature Commandos, the animated series that belongs to the wider DCU, Dynamic Duo will stand apart from that universe. Its separate status is relevant to the question of whether Thames and Kim could also take on these roles in live action. Dick and Jason were last played by Brenton Thwaites and Curran Walters, respectively, in HBO Max’s Titans.
Dick Grayson is rumored to have some kind of role in Batman: Brave and the Bold. Those rumors don’t, however, link that project to Dynamic Duo or its actors. Because the animated film sits outside the DCU, Nerdist considers live-action returns for its cast unlikely, while allowing that a positive audience response to both performances could leave that possibility open. Thames and Kim currently have confirmation only for voicing the two Robins.
