Production on HBO Max's Dead Boy Detectives has officially started, and, judging by comic book co-creator Neil Gaiman's initial reaction, things already look promising.

Showrunner Steve Yockey announced the production's kickoff via tweet with an image of a flight path from his home city of Los Angeles to the shooting locations in London. Auspiciously, the writer Neil Gaiman, who (with artists Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III) introduced the characters in the pages of The Sandman, lent the now-shooting series some early support. "It's so good," he said. "I mean, it really is so good. I've seen the pilot. I've read the scripts. So good. (You'll just have to trust me.)"

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The Dead Boy Detectives project started out as a spinoff from another HBO Max series based on a DC Comic, Doom Patrol. In the third season episode "Dead Patrol," viewers were introduced to Charles Rowland (Ty Tennant) and Edward Paine (Sebastian Croft), the ghosts of two British schoolchildren who, after their deaths, chose to stay on Earth and solve supernatural mysteries rather than move on to the afterlife. Joining them in their efforts was Crystal Palace (Madalyn Horcher), a young medium who acted as their companion. The episode ended with the Detectives setting off for their next adventure with Dorothy Spinner (Abigail Shapiro) accompanying them (though it's unknown if she will be part of the new series). However, things would change dramatically for the gestating Dead Boy Detectives series.

Dead Boy Detectives' Casting Twist

A pilot for Dead Boy Detectives was ordered in September 2021, with Yockey (who wrote "Dead Patrol") serving as executive producer. However, it was later announced that the main characters had been recast, with Jayden Revri as Charles, George Rexstrew as Edwin and Kassius Nelson as Crystal. The casting shakeup casts doubt on the show's status as a spinoff -- especially since DC has never been hesitant to plan multiple live-action iterations of characters concurrently. Indeed, the only confirmed actor from Doom Patrol reprising their role is Ruth Connell as Night Nurse, a demonic entity who manages the transition of souls to the afterlife. The pilot was later given a full-season order, with Arrow and Sweet Tooth writer Beth Schwartz joining the project as co-showrunner alongside Yockey.

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Meanwhile, Doom Patrol is preparing to launch its much-anticipated fourth season. According to an official synopsis, the season will see its heroes "unexpectedly travel to the future" to find an "unwelcome surprise," forcing the World's Weirdest Heroes to "decide once and for all which is more important: their own happiness or the fate of the world?" New characters joining the series include Madeline Zima as fan-favorite Casey Brinke and Sendhil Ramamurthy as the obscure supervillain Mr. 104.

Dead Boy Detectives doesn't yet have a release date. Doom Patrol returns for its fourth season on Dec. 8 on HBO Max.

Source: Twitter