While Dwayne Johnson is already heading into the DCEU as Black Adam later this year, he will first be heard as the voice of Krypto the Dog in DC League of Super Pets. Starring as the dog of Superman, Johnson will lend his voice to the superpowered canine as part of an all-star cast including Kevin Hart, Natasha Lyonne, John Krasinski, Kate McKinnon and Keanu Reeves, among others. In a new interview, director Jared Stern revealed what led to Johnson being cast in the role for the newest animated effort from Warner Bros.
While talking to Screen Rant, Stern described Krypto as a character who is self-assured and cocky but also has his vulnerabilities, which the co-writer and director believed were perfectly embodied by Johnson, whose performance saw the character evolving and becoming better for his involvement. Stern explained:
“We went for Dwayne because we knew that he was going to be a great fit for what we already had, and then it just got better and more interesting as we went. I think Krypto is a tricky character, because he’s cocky, he’s this guy that’s very confident because he’s got all these superpowers and he’s got the superest owner in the world, he’s Superman’s best friend, so he kind of flies above the other pets when we first meet him. But there’s a vulnerability, too, and a little bit of fear and sadness to him, because he doesn’t want to lose his best friend. That’s his only friend, he doesn’t have any other friends. So Dwayne was the perfect combo of that, you could hear in his voice when we were listening to samples, and then obviously, he crushed it once he got it in there.”
DC League of Super-Pets Has Overcome Early Mixed Reviews
Warner Bros. Pictures
While Dwayne Johnson is a big crowd puller in the flesh, how his presence in a voice-only capacity works out is yet to be seen for Warner Bros. Of course, the former wrestler has previously provided a voice-over for Disney, starring as Maui in Moana, and he will be hoping to see similar success this time around. However, first reviews of the movie were a mixed bag, the film has since gained a little momentum to pull up its approval rate to a respectable 85%, with many making sure they point out that the film is aimed at kids and is therefore not a deep or taxing superhero movie, but a bit of cute fun.
While DC League of Super-Pets has yet to start being seen by general audiences, it seems that the film is destined to be a decent hit this summer, and it will be interesting to see how it fares in comparison Minions: Rise of Gru, which has already been a big performer in the category of animated children’s movie. As it stands, the film’s release this weekend means that it has very little in the way of new competition and has only to overcome older releases like Thor: Love and Thunder, Top Gun: Maverick and Minions: Rise of Gru to take the top spot at the box office.
