Peter Safran Thinks DC’s ‘Dynamic Duo’ Could Be Its ‘Toy Story’ Moment

DC Studios has spent the last couple of years building out its superhero slate, and one of its most unusual projects isn’t live-action at all. ‘Dynamic Duo’ is an animated origin story about 2 young Robins, and it may be the studio’s biggest technical gamble yet.

The film follows Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, who later become Nightwing and Red Hood, in their early days in Gotham. It’s being made by Swaybox Studios, based in the New Orleans area, using a mix of puppetry, models and computer animation that the studio has been developing for more than a decade.

DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran has now made a very big comparison. Talking about the studio’s upcoming slate in an interview with IGN, he said ‘Dynamic Duo’ is “as original today as Pixar was when they did Toy Story, so we’re really excited about that.”

That’s a striking thing for an executive to say about a film still almost 2 years from release. Comparing it to Pixar’s breakthrough suggests Safran sees the project as more than another superhero cartoon. He seems to think it could change what audiences expect animation to look like.

Peter Safran says ‘DYNAMIC DUO’ is “as original today as Pixar was when they did Toy Story so we’re really excited about that.” (Via: https://t.co/SpWkw299dH) https://t.co/51hdabllit

— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) October 15, 2026

Swaybox calls its style “Motion on Motion,” or Momo. The name nods to Les Paul’s “Sound on Sound” recording method, and the technique grew out of what the team calls “multi-track puppetry,” which layers puppet movements captured at different times. Scenes are shot in real time with real cameras on handmade sets, and effects like water, wind and fire are done practically instead of digitally.

The first trailer for ‘TOY STORY 5’ has been released. In theaters on June 19. https://t.co/4BO0p5UNNJ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 19, 2026

Speed is a big part of the pitch. Biz New Orleans reported that Swaybox produces about 60 seconds of finished animation per day, compared with Pixar’s pace of roughly 3 seconds a week. The company started as a passion project in a Shreveport garage, and a demo reel that went viral caught the eye of director Matt Reeves, whose 6th & Idaho is producing the film.

The story tells the Robin mythology from a teenager’s point of view. Grayson is drawn toward Batman, while Todd is pulled toward the villainous Red Hood, whose identity he sometimes takes on. Matt Aldrich, who co-wrote ‘Coco’, wrote the script, and Swaybox co-founder Arthur Mintz is directing.

Safran has been talking up the film’s family appeal for a while. At an earlier press event, he told Collider that ‘Dynamic Duo’ is “a coming-of-age crowd pleaser” and that “it really provides a perfect on-ramp for the family audiences into the world of Gotham.”

Some people have already seen what Swaybox can do. At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2026, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation showed a test shot of a Red Hood walking through a subway car. Mintz explained that Todd sees himself in the reflective helmet, while Grayson sees something very different.

The footage made an impression. TheWrap said the character movement and facial detail looked unlike anything seen before and compared the moment to the first look at ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’. Swaybox also claims its Gotham City is bigger than any city previously put on film.

The voice cast is starting to fill in. According to Deadline, Mason Thames voices Dick Grayson and Logan Kim plays Jason Todd. Lee Pace and Steve Buscemi play the film’s 2 Red Hood characters, Red Hood One and Red Hood Two. Acclaimed Batman artist Jock joined the project in October 2025.

The film also moved off its original June 30, 2028, date and is now set for September 22, 2028, putting it in a back-to-school slot. Swaybox has said it plans to hire about 240 people for the production, most of them in Louisiana. That’s a big jump for a studio that has usually worked with teams of 50 to 75 people.

Safran’s comparison raises expectations a lot, and the film has to meet them. If Swaybox’s mix of handmade puppetry and digital tools works on a feature-length scale, ‘Dynamic Duo’ could stand out at a time when many animated films look alike. If it doesn’t, the Pixar comparison will come back to haunt DC.

Either way, DC is clearly treating the project as a statement piece and not a side experiment. With Reeves producing, a writer from ‘Coco ‘, and footage that already impressed people at Annecy, it now has 2 more years to prove Safran right.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!