With talk about the future of DC films on the tip of everyone’s tongue, one of the smaller movies just took a giant leap forward. Riverdale’s KJ Apa and Young Sheldon’s Isabel May have been cast as Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna in the upcoming Wonder Twins movie heading to HBO Max.
News of a Wonder Twins movie broke back in February when it was revealed Adam Sztykiel, one of the writers on Black Adam, had been hired to write and direct. Now, things have progressed and Sztykiel has his stars. The Wonder Twins debuted in the late 1970s on the The All-New Super Friends Hour. They’re alien siblings who touch hands and shout “Wonder Twin powers — activate!” to, well, activate their powers; Jayna then turns into an animal and Zan into water. In recent years, they popped up on Teen Titans Go! and Smallville, but this live-action movie is the biggest thing the characters have done to date.
Apa, of course, is best known for playing Archie on the hit show Riverdale. He’s led that show to success for five-plus seasons, proving that he’s got the ability to take what was once a goofy comic book character and make him into something more. May appeared a few times as Veronica Duncan on the CBS hit Young Sheldon, but recently got an even bigger gig on the show 1883, the Yellowstone prequel where she co-stars with Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill.
With those credits, it seems like Sztykiel certainly has two actors with growing star power, but that’s only half the battle. Now comes the big question: of can the Wonder Twins, DC characters that are rarely in the same conversations as their brooding, heroic counterparts, can add a spark to a cinematic universe that’s still a little up in the air?