Black Phone Star Mason Thames Will Voice Dick Grayson in DC's Dynamic Duo
Holy casting news, Batman.
DC Studios has found its Dick Grayson. Co-chairman Peter Safran confirmed that Mason Thames will voice the original Robin in Dynamic Duo, the studio's animated movie about Batman's first two sidekicks (Collider).
"Mason always wanted to be Dick Grayson. He just did," Safran told Collider while promoting Clayface. He said Thames was a huge fan of the character who auditioned for the part, and the studio picked him.
What is Dynamic Duo about?
The movie follows Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, the first two Robins, as a pair of street kids who give themselves the name Dynamic Duo. They start out as friends before their lives go in very different directions. In the comics, Dick is an orphaned circus acrobat, and Jason grows up rough on Gotham's streets before Batman takes him in.
Logan Kim voices Jason Todd, and Lee Pace and Steve Buscemi also have roles. Comic fans will notice that both of them are listed as Red Hoods, which is a big hint about where Jason's story is heading.
Who is making Dynamic Duo?
Swaybox Studios, a studio in New Orleans, is animating it with a mix of computer animation, stop-motion and real-time puppetry. Swaybox co-founder Arthur Mintz is directing, and Matt Reeves and James Gunn are among the producers. The script comes from Matthew Aldrich, who co-wrote Coco, along with the 500 Days of Summer writing team of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.
Safran admitted the puppet process is slow right now, but he expects it to get "faster" as the team works out the new technology. Dynamic Duo hits theaters on September 22, 2028, which is still almost two years away.
My read is that Thames is a great fit. He played a scared kid fighting back in The Black Phone and a brave underdog in How to Train Your Dragon, and Dick Grayson needs both of those sides. The puppet style also sounds like nothing else in superhero movies right now. (Somebody please give Dick his circus flips in stop-motion.)
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Who's your favorite Robin? Tell us in the comments.
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Header image and in-article image are official stills from How to Train Your Dragon (2025), from Universal Pictures.
