After The People Vs. Gorilla Grodd star Skyler Gisondo claimed last week that the upcoming DCU true-crime mockumentary takes place before the events of Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, DCU boss James Gunn has taken to social media to clarify its place on the DCU timeline.
Responding to a report on Threads, Gunn said: "Overall in continuity, it's after MoT (and won't come out until then)." This certainly makes sense as, for the most part, the DCU is unfolding in chronological order as each new project releases; though, notably, Clayface is set to take place before the events of Superman.
However, there is one small wrinkle that Gunn notes when it comes to The People Vs. Gorilla Grodd: "I mean it's a true crime series, so it jumps all over the place." Expect the show to jump around in time, in other words, which could mean we learn a lot about the state of the DCU over the years. In all likelihood, this helps explain the many Gorilla Grodd leaks that have popped up online in recent weeks, which show Gorilla Grodd attending college (and singing acapella).
The People Vs. Gorilla Grodd is one of the more unusual projects on the DCU Chapter One slate. Starring Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen, it'll see the Daily Planet journalist and rizzed-up ladies' man investigating the 2021 conviction of Gorilla Grodd, who was sentenced to a stint in Stryker's Island Penitentiary after murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City.
Created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda – the brains behind hilarious Netflix true-crime mockumentary series American Vandal – The People Vs. also stars Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd. Tatro previously appeared as the accused in the first season of American Vandal, and most recently popped up during Scream 7's bloody pre-title sequence.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Gisondo discussed his appearance in buzzy A24 drama Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson, and the process of returning to play Jimmy Olsen soon after. "It's quite a change-up," Gisondo said. "I actually went straight from – not straight, [after Primetime] the next thing was Focker-in-Law... which is just, tonally, a very different movie.
"Now being back doing Jimmy Olsen, and [The People v. Gorilla Grodd] is like a mockumentary, true crime thing, so it's very Lance [Oppenheim]-adjacent, and it is funny." Rob said something in one of our interviews where, in The Odyssey, he hears a little bit of Chris Hansen's voice sometimes, and you're like, 'Oh right, [...] I gotta shake that off...'
The People vs. Gorilla Grodd will release after Man of Tomorrow. To find out more about what's going on with the future plans for the studio, check out our guide to upcoming DC movies and TV shows.
