New Superman Spinoff Takes Huge Step Forward, Adds a Central Villain

The DC Universe is about to get a lot bigger thanks to a new series featuring one of the least powerful Superman characters of all time — and fans can't wait to see it.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, a spinoff series is officially in the works, with Skylar Gisondo set to star in the lead in a reprisal of his role of Jimmy Olsen from Superman. DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran will executive produce the series, with American Vandal creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda having signed on to write, direct, and serve as showrunners. The currently untitled series will revolve around Olsen and other Daily Planet staff members (save for Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane and David Corenswet's Clark Kent) as they deal with cases involving various superpowered heroes and villains.

As surprising as it might be that Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen is lined up to lead his own Superman spinoff series, even more shocking is the revelation that one decidedly underrated DC Comics villain will be taking center stage along with him for Season 1. Specifically, the super-intelligent (and superpowered) Gorilla Grodd. A classic villain who first appeared in the opening story from 1959's The Flash #106, "Menace of the Super-Gorilla!" by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Gorilla Grodd has long been one of the Scarlet Speedster's most cunning and capable foes. Apart from his tenure in the comics and various animated media, Gorilla Grodd enjoyed a storied live-action career as part of The CW's Arrowverse.

Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman arrived in theaters on July 11 and quickly cemented its place as the latest hit silver screen adaptation of the beloved comic book superhero of the same name. Over the course of the film's theatrical run, Superman grossed more than $616.6 million, all against a budget of $225 million. Superman also garnered rave reviews from both critics and audiences alike, currently boasting an 83% "Certified Fresh" rating via review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an audience-generated "Popcornmeter" score of 90%, as averaged across more than 25,000 user submitted reviews. Despite the film's widespread success, Superman has still faced plenty of derision from the likes of Chuck Dixon and other, less optimistic industry insiders and fans.

What Else Can Fans Expect From The DCU?

Gisondo's upcoming return as Jimmy Olsen is just one piece of a much wider vision for the DCU in film and on television, and that vision is coming together about as quickly as anyone could have imagined. Over the course of the next year alone, audiences are looking forward to the release of the hotly-anticipated Lanterns streaming series, the already unnerving Clayface feature film, and the return of Milly Alcock's Kara Zor-El in Supergirl, the latter of which is currently slated to arrive in theaters on June 26, 2026. Directed by Craig Gillespie from a screenplay by Ana Nogueira, Supergirl will borrow heavily from Tom King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow run, with James Gunn himself already describing the film as a "space adventure... like Guardians [of the Galaxy]."

The Jimmy Olsen Superman spinoff show does not have a release date yet. Superman is streaming on HBO Max.