(SeaPRwire) – By: Logan Pierce
Warner Bros just handed James Gunn the keys to the DCU. The studio picked up a full season order on August 21 for The People v. Gorilla Grodd. It’s a mockumentary trial comedy set at the Daily Planet. Skyler Gisondo plays Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy Tatro plays the murderous ape himself. But the casting rumor that set the internet ablaze is the one nobody expected. Eduardo Franco is reportedly playing Tenzil Kem. That’s Matter-Eater Lad. The internet laughed at the concept for decades. Gunn apparently doesn’t see it that way.
The character debuted in Adventure Comics issue 303. Tenzil Kem hails from the planet Bismoll. His homeworld carries a deadly microbe. That microbe made organic food poisonous to eat. Human colonists carried the metagene. DC treats it as their lesser-known X-gene equivalent. Their bodies adapted over generations. They began eating inorganic material to survive. The Legion of Superheroes first appeared in 1958. Their debut was Adventure Comics issue 247. Every member fights battles from the 31st century. None of them are mainstream household names. The team has endured relative obscurity for decades.
Franco is best known for Stranger Things and American Vandal. Both projects exist outside the DC universe entirely. The showrunners Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault brought him in. They previously worked together on American Vandal. That history creates a casting logic beyond mere rumor. Franco reposted the casting news with eating-mouth stickers. That’s either a self-aware joke or a deliberate hint. The internet already jokes about Matter-Eater Lad constantly. Peacemaker season 1 referenced him in mockumentary form. A comedy format is the only environment where this actually works.
James Gunn has spent his entire tenure rebuilding DC’s reputation. The previous franchise collapsed under executive disarray and tone confusion. His strategy leans into self-aware absurdity. Superman rebooted as a heartfelt origin story. The People v. Gorilla Grodd takes the opposite lane. It’s a comedy mockumentary about a sentient ape murder trial. That’s not a safe choice for IP management. But it signals something. Gunn is comfortable with the medium’s strangest corners. He’s building audience goodwill through humor before demanding investment in gravitas.
Marvel has spent years consolidating its library around recognizable faces. The MCU prioritizes efficiency over creativity. Everything orbits around a dozen bankable properties. Disney doesn’t risk production budgets on obscure characters. That approach creates a structural vulnerability. Audiences grow tired of the same ensemble. DC’s willingness to deploy forgotten IP fills a gap. The Legion of Superheroes represents hundreds of unused characters. Each adaptation costs Warner Bros almost nothing in established audience expectation. Freshness becomes the product itself. Gunn understands that the medium’s greatest asset is its absurdity.
The D-list is about to become the entire list.
Author bio: Logan Pierce, an independent business researcher and corporate governance writer on Medium, covering entertainment IP strategy and media franchise consolidation trends.