Dog Man is an upcoming American animated action comedy film based on Dav Pilkey's children's graphic novel series of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. A spin-off and story within a story of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) and the second film in the Captain Underpants franchise, it is being directed by Peter Hastings. The film stars the voices of Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais.
DreamWorks Animation announced a film adaptation of Dog Man in December 2020, with Hastings set to direct after his experience with Pilkey's works from The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants (2018–2020). Karen Foster joined as a producer in January 2024.
Dog Man is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on Friday, January 31, 2025.
When a human police officer Knight and his dog Greg are injured together on the job, a life-saving surgery changes the course of history when Dog Man is born. Dog Man must protect and serve as he doggedly pursues the feline Petey the Cat, but the unexpected arrival of Li'l Petey changes their dynamic.[1][2]
Additionally, Laraine Newman, Luenell, Melissa Villaseñor, Cheri Oteri, Kate Micucci, Maggie Wheeler, Pearce Bunting, Max Koch, and Rahnuma Panthaky have been cast in undisclosed roles.[5]
On December 9, 2020, DreamWorks Animation announced that a film based on the Captain Underpants spin-off graphic novel series Dog Man was in development, with Peter Hastings attached to direct after his experience with Dav Pilkey's works from The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants (2018–20).[6] On January 29, 2024, following the release date announcement, DreamWorks announced that Karen Foster would serve as producer.[2]
On September 17, 2024, with the release of the first trailer, Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais were revealed to be part of the film's voice cast.[3][4]
On October 6, 2023, the film was confirmed to be released in 2025, while it was also confirmed that Dog Man and Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie would be animated entirely at partner studios (excluding Sony Pictures Imageworks who was named as the animation partner for The Bad Guys 2).[7]
Unlike Captain Underpants, which was animated by Mikros Image and Technicolor Animation Productions, the film's animation is handled by Jellyfish Pictures, who previously did the animation for DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019) and Spirit Untamed (2021), along with marketing custom animation for Trolls World Tour (2020) and providing additional production assets for The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021), The Bad Guys (2022), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). Nate Wragg serves as production designer.[8]
In May 2024, it was announced that Jakks Pacific and its costume division Disguise entered into a partnership with Dav Pilkey to make merchandise based on the Dog Man film along with the comic book series. A book explaining the film will release on Tuesday, December 10th, 2024, published by Abrams Books. [9] On September 17, 2024, the film's first trailer was released.[3][4]
Dog Man is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on January 31, 2025.[2]