Based on the futuristic DC superhero team created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the latest Warner Bros Animation heads to the 31st century and introduces the Legion Academy. It’s here where Supergirl joins a new generation of fellow heroes, including Mon-El and Brainiac 5, who are training to hone their powers with the hopes of joining the Legion of Super-Heroes.
To celebrate the film’s release, we had the opportunity to sit down with voice actor Robbie Daymond – who voices both Timber Wolf and Brainiac 4 – to discuss his take on the characters, his favourite member of the recent Legion of Super-Heroes line-up and also his recent cameo in Critical Role’s animated second series, The Legend of Vox Machina.
So how did you first get involved with the project?
Oh, well, you know, it’s a pretty classic LA voice actor story. I got an audition. I read for it. And then someone thought I was capable enough! And this person probably ended up directing me on the show. So normal stuff, just a regular day at the office. Yeah, it was great. But not regular – special. Ya know, a regular day at the office is like, you know, like a fast food commercial! This kind of stuff is the most enjoyable. So I’ve been watching these films for the last 25 years, so it’s really exciting to be a part of one.
Definitely. And how much research did you do into the Legion of Superheroes and Timber Wolf? Or were you au fait with the characters and team already?
Well, I’m a real life nerd. So I didn’t have to do too much extra homework. It was a little bit of looking into the character but, there is this thing where, especially with adaptations of comic books, you don’t want to delve too deep. You want to know what the world is and where you’re going. But if you get too invested in an idea of how something’s supposed to go, I feel like as an actor, sometimes that limits you and taking direction from the people who know a whole lot more than you. So, yeah, a little bit. I was familiar with the world coming in.
And what were your first impressions when you read the script? Because there hasn’t really been too much on the Legion of Super Heroes at the moment and it’s so interesting to delve into these characters.
Yeah, I mean, I obviously am not privy to any of the higher level plans for this. It immediately felt like, and I hate to use the word but like, you know, it belongs in a franchise. You know, like, sometimes you’ll watch a standalone hero movie or something like that and you’ll go, oh, that was fun. And you’d be like, oh, this has legs. So really exciting to see a bunch of new characters. I mean, obviously, we’re in sort of a Future Bass kind of alternate dimension, or whatever you want to call it. And that’s always fun when you get to take on new characters.
So how did you settle on the voice for Brainiac four, because that was definitely something different we haven’t seen before!
I just did what they told me! I think that’s one of the fun parts about our job is that you get to play quite a bit, because you have the time in the studio to work through some voices. So we spit out some ideas and we just, we we probably toyed around with a dozen different things that you’ll never hear and where we landed is where we were at. And I was I was pretty happy with how it turned out.
And who would you say your favourite character from the Legion is? Because I mean, you’ve got Arms Fall Off Boy and you’ve got Bouncing Boy, there’s some pretty interesting individuals!
You don’t even have to go any further than Arms fall Off Boy. I feel like it’s like the moniker is a little bit you know, underplayed, the arms don’t just fall off. They do some pretty cool stuff. So I wonder the moment I feel like like, how did he come up with that man? Was it like when he first discovered his powers and all he could do was have his arms fall off? And nothing beyond? Yeah, I don’t know. I feel like this opportunity. I mean, at least maybe arms punched you in the face boy. Something like that.
Yeah, we sort of saw a version of his powers in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
Oh, I haven’t seen that the theatres. I’ll have to go back and watch it!
So what would you say your favourite thing about playing Timberwolf was in this film?
Oh, well, it was interesting because once you saw some art afterwards and ADR, it kind of changed the perception of what I thought the character was. So we got to tweak a few things I like, that idea of without giving too much away. Like, I played a tonne of young heroes in my career, and I kind of liked with the grizzled veteran trope. I like the voice of reason guy. I always feel like they temper the teen dramas. So yeah, I had a good time with it. You know? Surly dad – I’m all about it.
And obviously, this isn’t your first foray into the DC Universe. You’ve had with Aquaman: King of Atlantis and Young Justice. And are there any other characters you’d love to play at all?
Man, I have an answer for this. And I hope that the powers of VR are listening to it or maybe I hope they are listening to it. I do have an answer to this. I would love this elevator pitch. I would love to play Animal Man. Do you know this character?
Maybe? Tell me more!
Yeah, well, that’s that’s exactly why – it’s so vague. It’s this kind of character that could be like a wink and a nod. But he had this comic run, (I can’t remember whether it was the 2000s) which was like vaguely Japanese body horror-ish. It was like a short run. But the character is kind of like a Booster Gold sort of cheesy type characters. So I think it would be so fun to do like a limited 12 episode series with Animal Man like this cheesy guy. He’s basically like Aquaman of the land. And talking to these animals, you know, like buddy cop with like, chimpanzee as one of the old covers. And then somewhere around episode three, it just takes a crazy turn. And it’s all this wild like Junji Ito body horror stuff to pull from. I just think it’d be so much fun for like, an adult based platform like Amazon or something like that.
Yeah, definitely. Or maybe HBO Max!
That’s the one – let’s go! You heard the pitch – give me Animal Man, baby. Let’s do it.
Definitely! And you’re obviously a hugely in demand voice actor in film, TV and gaming. Would you say there’s like many differences when you record for the different mediums at all?
Oh, yeah, absolutely. You know, each one has its own set of skills. And sometimes the crossover is high, sometimes not so much. I’ve been really fortunate to have a diverse career ranging from audiobooks, video games, anime, animation, commercial, that sort of thing. And every time you go to the studio, it’s completely different. And for something like an original record, which is what this was, we were going straight from the scripts, into the mic into the recording, that’s my favourite. I do enjoy the other things that are a little bit more structured. Like, you know, obviously, we’re doing ADR with something like anime, you’ve got to match what’s going on at the screen. And then, you know, with video games, it’s a long laundry list of of lines to record that go in a specific place in the game. But for me, animation is just the top – it’s the most fun. It’s the most creatively fulfilling. I do enjoy it all.
And what’s next in the pipeline for you? Anymore RPGs?
Oh, yeah. Always. That sounds like it comes from a place of personal interest?
Ah I have a d&d session tonight!
I see how it is! Voiceover – it’s a little bit weird, in the sense that our careers are always a few years in arrears. So things that I can talk about today are some things that I recorded two or three years ago. So what did I think they just announced me for a new Grand Blue game. I’m going to join the cast of RWBY for their ninth season, I’m going to finally step into a short arc on One Piece. So you know, these are all relatively new things. But now I’m gonna I’m doing a tonne of work. Next month I’m in a mo-cap suit for for the next show. Yeah, it’ll be fun. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens!
Oh wow, have you ever done mo-cap work?
A little bit here and there, yeah. But, nothing of this scale! So looking forward to it.
And obviously there’s your cameo in Vox Machina season two.
Of course, they snuck me in those cheeky devils. They got me in there. I think that those episodes will be coming out in the next couple of weeks or whenever this article comes out. But yeah, you know, those those guys are the best. And we’ve been friends for a long time. So anytime Critical Role throws up the bat signal you better believe I’ll answer for sure!
Legion of Super-Heroes is coming to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download starting 6th February 2023 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
