Kite Man: Hell Yeah! executive producer Dean Lorey has opened up about the late Lance Reddick‘s performance as iconic Superman villain, Lex Luthor.
Reddick succeeds Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian alum Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of the powerful businessman in the Harley Quinn Universe. The latter voiced Lex Luthor across the first four seasons of the adult animated comedy series, Harley Quinn. No reason has been given for the casting change at this time, although it’s likely that a scheduling conflict prevented Esposito from returning.
While speaking with Collider to promote Kite Man, Lorey explained the differences between Esposito and Reddick’s Lex Luthor performances. “First of all, he [Reddick] was wonderful. He really leaned into the gravity of Lex and the depth of him, whereas Giancarlo was a little bit more of a businessman,” Lorey said. “We were shocked and very saddened when he passed, but he had recorded most of the episodes, and so we were able to use his work.” The executive producer added that Reddick is “wonderful in it. Truly wonderful.”
Kite Man spinoff expands the world of Harley Quinn
Announced in March 2022 under its original title, Noonan’s, Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is a spinoff of the critically acclaimed Harley Quinn, starring Kaley Cuoco. While Cuoco’s Harley Quinn will appear in Kite Man, she will not be the focus, with the show instead revolving around its titular B-list supervillain, Charles Brown/Kite Man (Matt Oberg). The animated series will follow Kite Man as he owns and runs Gotham City’s seediest dive bar, Noonan’s, with his girlfriend, Golden Glider, voiced by Academy Award-nominated actor Stephanie Hsu.
The rest of the voice cast for Kite Man includes Jonathan Banks as Noonan, Michael Imperioli as Joe/Moe Dubelz, Natasia Demetriou as Malice, Judith Light as Helen Villigan, Janelle James as Queen of Fables, Rory Scovel as Gus the Goon, Keith David as Darkseid, Maria Bamford as Baby Doll, and Lake Bell as Poison Ivy.
Lorey, Justin Halpern, Patrick Shumacker, Cuoco, and Sam Register serve as executive producers on the series, which comes from production companies Delicious Non-Sequitur, Lorey Stories, and Yes, Norman Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
The first two episodes of Kite Man: Hell Yeah! will premiere on Max on July 18, 2024. New episodes will continue to drop weekly through September 12, 2024.
