DC’s next animated couple has a lot more to worry about than keeping their marriage together. Mister Miracle will bring Scott Free and Big Barda into the DC Universe, adapting Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ acclaimed comic about a superhero escape artist whose greatest challenges follow him home. With Josh Hutcherson voicing Scott and Mackenzie Davis playing Barda, the series has an especially exciting pair leading it.

The adult animated adaptation also has King himself overseeing the story, giving the writer another major DC television project after Lanterns. His Mister Miracle comic puts Scott and Barda’s relationship alongside the enormous conflicts of the New Gods, making room for domestic life in the middle of an interplanetary war. Fans waiting to see that combination on screen now have a clearer idea of how the series is coming together.

Ahead of Clayface, Co-CEO of DC Studios Peter Safran told Collider’s Steve Weintraub that Mister Miracle is targeting a 2028 release, although a premiere date has not been announced. The DC Studios co-chief also revealed that he has already seen animatics for the entire eight-episode season. Asked whether he envisioned the show arriving in 2028, Safran explained, “We haven’t actually announced a date for it. We’re very advanced on it. I mean, we’ve seen animatics of the whole season. But I think we’ve always thought of it as ‘28.” He also indicated that the episodes would run approximately 30 minutes, saying, “Yeah. I think that’s what we ended up with,” giving viewers somewhat of a picture of the first season’s format, even as its exact release plans remain under wraps.

‘Mister Miracle’ Could Continue Beyond Its First Season

Beyond the production update, Safran explained why he wanted to bring King and Gerads’ comic to the screen. The appeal goes back to conversations with King when Safran and James Gunn first took over DC Studios. For Safran, the book’s impact on readers is a big part of what makes it such an exciting starting point for the series:

“It’s always been one of my favorite of Tom King’s books. I find it so emotional. When he and I were talking early on, when James and I took this job, he told me that at every convention he goes to, a couple of people come up to him and say, ‘This book saved my life.’ The idea that, ‘How do you survive in today’s world, knowing that you’re never going to have the answers to the biggest questions out there?’ is just a really great commentary on the human condition and exploration to start with as the basis of the series. I think it’s a great on-ramp into the world of Scott Free and Big Barda, the new gods. It’s a great way in to start telling those stories.”

King adapted the entire season himself, bringing his own story into animation after working on Lanterns. Safran praised both the adaptation and the experience King gained making the HBO series. He also stressed that Scott and Barda’s emotional story will share the screen with the enormous battles fans would expect from the New Gods:

“But Tom adapted the entire season himself from his book and did an extraordinary job. I’m really excited about the show because it’s about something. It’s really meaningful, and I think it’s going to move people. We always talk about ‘superhero’ in and of itself not being a genre, but there are genres underneath it; this is incredibly emotional but also action-packed because it’s got all the battles that are going on on the different planets. It’s a really exciting piece.

I think that Tom learned a huge amount creating and executive producing Lanterns, and I think he’s brought a lot of that new knowledge to the table when he adapted Mister Miracle.”

Adapting the book does not necessarily mean the show will end with its first season. Asked whether Mister Miracle could continue for multiple seasons, Safran said, “Well, because it’s about Scott and Barda and their child, I think there are a lot of places you can go with it. There’s no reason why it couldn’t be an ongoing season series.”

That leaves the possibility of a longer future for Hutcherson and Davis’ characters, although additional seasons have not been announced. Safran also explicitly confirmed that Mister Miracle is part of the DCU. For now, the first season is targeting 2028, with an official premiere date still to come.

 

via Collider