Josh Hutcherson Just Became DC

James Gunn’s DCU keeps growing, and not always with the biggest names. A casual remark from DC Studios co-head Peter Safran has quietly added a twelfth lead to the roster.

Josh Hutcherson: The Surprise Casting

Safran told IGN that Josh Hutcherson will voice Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle, in the animated Mister Miracle series. Mackenzie Davis plays his warrior wife, Big Barda. Safran dropped it almost in passing, before any official announcement.

He also praised Tom King, who wrote all eight episodes himself, adapting his own acclaimed comic. In a separate Collider chat, Safran said the series is targeting 2028 and that DC has already seen animatics for the whole season. Episodes should run around 30 minutes, and the show could continue past one season. That’s a shift from earlier assumptions that it would be a limited series.

Why Animation Casting Matters?

DCU actors can voice a character and then play them in live action. Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. is the proof: he debuted in animated Creature Commandos, then moved into Superman, Peacemaker Season 2 and the upcoming Man of Tomorrow. Hutcherson could follow the same path.

DCU Leads

Actor	Project	Status
Josh Hutcherson	Mister Miracle	Targeting 2028
David Corenswet	Superman / Man of Tomorrow	Franchise face
Milly Alcock	Supergirl	Box office disappointment
Xolo Maridueña	Blue Beetle film and animated series	Series in the works
John Cena	Peacemaker	Two seasons done
Indira Varma	Creature Commandos	Season 2 in 2027
Aaron Pierre	Lanterns	Next in Man of Tomorrow
Kyle Chandler	Lanterns	Hal Jordan, killed off
Tom Rhys Harries	Clayface	In theaters Oct 23
Skyler Gisondo	The People v. Gorilla Grodd	In production
Jimmy Tatro	The People v. Gorilla Grodd	In production
Nicholas Hoult	Man of Tomorrow	Lex Luthor teams with Superman

The Leads, Explained

Corenswet anchors everything. Superman relaunched the franchise and became 2025’s top-grossing superhero film, and he returns in Man of Tomorrow to face Brainiac.

Alcock had a rougher time. Supergirl earned about $126 million worldwide against a budget reportedly as high as $186 million, so team-ups look likelier than solo films.

Maridueña led 2023’s Blue Beetle, which is now partly canon. He’ll appear in Man of Tomorrow and lead an animated series.

Cena’s Peacemaker grew from The Suicide Squad villain into a series lead. Season 2 left him stuck in Salvation, and Season 3 is uncertain.

Varma leads the monster team in Creature Commandos as The Bride, and returns for Season 2 on HBO Max in 2027.

Pierre and Chandler shared Lanterns. John Stewart survives as Earth’s new Green Lantern, while Hal Jordan was killed off in a grounded murder mystery. Fans still hope for a Hal return, and nothing is greenlit for Season 2.

Harries stars in Clayface, an R-rated body-horror film about Matt Hagen’s revenge spiral, and the character is being framed as an anti-hero.

Gisondo and Tatro headline a mockumentary from the team behind Netflix’s American Vandal. It centers on Jimmy Olsen and Gorilla Grodd, who is accused of killing his father.

Hoult’s Lex Luthor is no hero, but he teams up with Superman against a bigger threat.

For more on the shared universe, see the DC Universe franchise overview on Wikipedia. Keep up with more superhero updates at Technosports, including our Marvel and DC coverage.