Josh Hutcherson and Mackenzie Davis Set as Leads for DC's 'Mister Miracle'

DC Studios co-chairman Peter Safran confirmed the eight-episode animated project, revealing that comic creator Tom King personally wrote every script following his work on 'Lanterns.'

DC Studios has cast Josh Hutcherson and Mackenzie Davis to headline its upcoming animated television series Mister Miracle, introducing two cornerstone New Gods characters to the studio's expanding slate. Hutcherson will voice master escape artist Scott Free, known as Mister Miracle, while Davis stars as his warrior wife and partner, Big Barda.

The eight-episode series, headed to HBO Max, adapts the acclaimed 2017 DC comic by writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads. DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed the casting to IGN, revealing that King serves as showrunner and wrote every episode himself.

Safran explained that King tackled the scripts solo after gaining television production experience co-creating and executive producing HBO's live-action Lanterns.

“Tom King really learned a lot in his season of co-creating and executive producing Lanterns and he adapted his book Mister Miracle fully on his own, wrote all eight episodes and I think it's just dynamite,” Safran told IGN. “I just think it's a book that I've always loved and I remember Tom telling us early on that, every convention he goes to, at least a couple people come up to him and say 'this book saved my life,' and I love that we got to tell that story over eight episodes.”

Safran noted the production aims to honor the book's emotional depth. “And it's just a beautiful story about, 'How do we survive in today's world knowing that we're never going to truly know the answers to the big questions in life?' It's a beautiful book and the adaptation is fantastic so we're excited about that,” Safran added.

Mister Miracle and Big Barda occupy an enduring place in DC Comics history. Legendary creator Jack Kirby introduced Scott Free in 1971 in Mister Miracle #1, following with Barda in issue #4 as part of his expansive Fourth World mythos. In Kirby's cosmic mythology, Scott was born on the celestial realm of New Genesis as the child of Highfather. Seeking a ceasefire with the nightmarish world Apokolips, Highfather surrendered his infant son to galactic tyrant Darkseid, receiving Darkseid's own offspring, Orion, in return.

Raised amid brutal conditions within Granny Goodness's horrific orphanages on Apokolips, Scott endured relentless cruelty designed to crush his spirit. Instead, he developed unmatched evasion skills and eventually staged an impossible escape. During his time on Apokolips, Scott met Big Barda, the formidable leader of Darkseid's elite strike force, the Female Furies. Disillusioned by Darkseid's tyranny, Barda joined Scott, and together they fled to Earth, married, and eventually fought alongside the Justice League.

King and Gerads revitalized that classic dynamic in their Eisner Award-winning 2017 series. Their 12-issue story explored severe depression, post-traumatic stress, and domestic normalcy, presenting Scott and Barda juggling married life and impending parenthood against the destructive backdrop of renewed cosmic war. Throughout that run, Scott battled the existential dread of Darkseid's Anti-Life Equation, questioning whether his suburban peace was genuine reality or an elaborate psychological trap.

The casting of Hutcherson, recognized for The Hunger Games and Five Nights at Freddy's, alongside Davis, acclaimed for Station Eleven and Terminator: Dark Fate, brings proven dramatic pedigree to the animated production. DC Studios has not announced a formal release date for the eight-episode project on HBO Max.

The announcement also highlights ongoing curiosity regarding how Mister Miracle fits into the broader DC Universe overseen by Safran and co-chairman James Gunn. While studio representatives have not clarified whether the animated series resides within central DCU continuity or under the standalone Elseworlds label, the casting choices align closely with Gunn's previously articulated studio strategy. Gunn has consistently maintained that primary performers hired for DC Studios animated projects should be capable of portraying those same roles in live-action productions.

Intriguingly, the physical pairing of Hutcherson and Davis reflects their comic book counterparts. In print, Big Barda stands roughly a foot taller than Scott Free, a visual contrast that Davis and Hutcherson naturally mirror in height. Whether their voice work eventually translates into live-action appearances remains unconfirmed, but the project establishes a major creative milestone as DC Studios expands its prestige animated offerings.

Source:

TheWrap — HBO Max's 'Mister Miracle' Adds Josh Hutcherson, Mackenzie Davis (Published: October 14, 2026).

IGN — DC's Mister Miracle Animated Series Lead Voices Confirmed (Published: October 14/15, 2026).

CBR — Five Nights at Freddy's Star Josh Hutcherson Confirmed for Lead Role in DC Studios Series (Published: October 14, 2026).