This week, it was revealed that DC Studios is officially developing a Superman movie spinoff following Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), and it has a chance to succeed where both Marvel and DC have failed. Titled DC Crime, the show will be set in the DC Universe and formatted like a true crime docuseries, hosted by Jimmy; the first season will tackle Gorilla Grodd.
DC Studios tapped American Vandal creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault to serve as writers, executive producers and showrunners on DC Crime, and they’re a perfect fit for the concept. Netflix’s American Vandal was a true crime-style docuseries that tackled somewhat ridiculous subjects through a serious lens to humorous effect. For example, season 1 tells the story of a high school student accused of drawing penises on teachers’ cars.
Given Yacenda and Perrault’s history on American Vandal, it feels safe to assume DC Crime will take a similar tone, where a subject like Gorilla Grodd — a super-intelligent gorilla with psychic powers — could be seen as ridiculous. With a serious tone, though, Grodd could prove to be a fearsome villain, and DC Crime could be a compelling tale of everyday reporters working on important cases.
But DC Crime isn’t the first time Marvel and DC have tried to tell superhero stories about non-superhero characters. In fact, both Marvel and DC tried and failed to deliver television shows that would follow ordinary civilians in superhero universes. Yet DC Crime feels like the first real chance for either Marvel or DC to get it right.
Marvel & DC Shows Like DC Crime Have Failed In The Past
Before DC Crime, there was DC’s Powerless and Marvel’s Damage Control. Powerless was a sitcom set in the DC Universe about a team of regular people working in research and development for Wayne Security. The series was set in Charm City, rather than Batman’s home of Gotham, and tackled stories of everyday people contending with the struggles of living adjacent to superheroes.
In somewhat the same vein, Damage Control was about the Marvel organization of the same name, after being introduced to the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The series would’ve followed the crew tasked with cleaning up after big superhero battles, like the one in The Avengers.
However, Damage Control never made it past the pilot script stage. Though it made it to air, Powerless was canceled after one season. Both series were sitcoms about everyday people living in their respective superhero universes, but neither managed to capture the attention they needed to succeed.
How DC Crime Can Succeed Where Marvel & DC Failed
DC Crime isn’t exactly the same as Powerless and Damage Control, especially since Yacenda and Perrault are going the true crime-style docuseries route rather than sitcom, but it will face similar problems. Initial reports indicate neither Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet) nor Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) will appear in DC Crime, which means the show will lack two of the DCU’s biggest characters.
However, DC Crime has a good team behind it with Perrault and Yacenda, who’ve demonstrated their talent with this kind of true crime-style series before. It’s an exciting concept, even without Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Plus, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has said in the past that no project will move forward until the script is done and polished, so DC Crime won’t be made unless DC is confident in it.
For all those reasons, DC Crime is already set up for more success than Damage Control and Powerless. If DC Studios pulls it off, DC Crime could continue the story of Superman‘s Daily Planet characters and absolutely succeed where Marvel and DC failed before.
- Release Date
-
July 11, 2025
- Runtime
-
130 minutes
- Producers
-
Peter Safran
