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Verdragon writes...

What's the hardest casting choice you've had to make in your showrunner career?

Greg responds...

Hardest casting choice?

Not sure what that means in context. Like we had two people and couldn't decide which one to pick? I can't even think of an example of that.

We've had some roles that were hard to cast. Goliath and Elisa come to mind, but once we found Keith and Salli, respectively, the decision was easy.

There have been roles where my first choice was over-ridden by TPTB, but it's always worked out pretty darn well, anyway.

Response recorded on October 03, 2022

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Elisa&Goliath writes...

Hi Greg!
I am a lifelong fan of all of your work! Especially gargoyles and young justice. I wanted to ask 3 questions that I didn’t see waiting to be answered already.
1 did you intentionally include props from gargoyles in young justice season four at the Tower of fate? A.k.a. the Phoenix gate, The eye of Oden, grimorum arcanorum.
2 are there more gargoyles Easter eggs throughout YJ?
3 I have recognized the voices of many of the actors on young Justice, as actors who also voiced characters on gargoyles. Do you like to work a lot with the same people?
I think it’s pretty fantastic, but sometimes when I hear the voices I think of their character from gargoyles instead of who they are in young justice.

Greg responds...

1. If I said it was an accident or coincidence would you believe me?

2. Here and there.

3. I do. Very much.

Response recorded on September 08, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Greg, are you aware that you can have a Muslim character without making their entire identity about being Muslim? You realize we’re regular people, right? Most of us aren’t religious zealots. We don’t think about being Muslim 24/7. It’s just part of our identity. You don’t really need to mention it, just like you have never mentioned the religion of any of the main white characters. Or is it more that you feel the need to remind the audience that you’re so inclusive for including Muslims? Whatever it is, you need to stop. This is clearly a blind spot of yours. And don’t reply that some org you’re working with says you’re fine - they don’t speak for all of us and you can’t hide behind that to dismiss criticism.

Greg responds...

I'm not hiding behind anyone. But I also feel just fine saying that an organization like MPAC likes what we're doing and encouraged same. As did the Muslim writer who wrote the episode and the Muslim actor who performed the role. My point is - and always has been - simply this: JUST BECAUSE YOU PERSONALLY THINK SOMETHING DOESN'T WORK, DOESN'T MEAN THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AGREES WITH YOU. PERIOD. You don't get to decide for all Muslims what does or doesn't play. I had plenty of Muslim fans thrilled over our depiction of Khalid. Doesn't mean you have to be, but stop trying to tell me that you personally represent an entire religion, when I have a list of people who are also of that faith disagreeing with you.

And, yes, of course, Muslims are regular people. Just like Khalid, for example, who didn't talk about his Muslim identity at all in five out of the six episodes he appeared in this season. So he did talk about it in one episode. One episode that happened to specifically be about a crisis in faith. That doesn't make him a zealot, as you so kindly labeled him. His faith is part of his identity, just as Zatara's Catholic faith is part of his - putting the lie to the notion that we've never addressed the faith of any "white" characters. (Or do you think Zatara is a zealot, as well? Or does he not count because he's not YOUNG?)

In any case, Khalid's faith matters to him. And we're just fine depicting that. For some characters, their faith (whatever it may be) is a big part of their lives. For others, it isn't. That's the way the world works. Why wouldn't our show reflect the world?

Take the excellent ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, for example, where the character played by Sheryl Lee Ralph (our Amanda Waller) is constantly expressing her faith and her belief in God, even though none of the other characters do. (At least not that I've seen so far.) This is life.

The funny thing is, I had other Muslim viewers tell me I couldn't hide behind MPAC to justify Khalid being a practicing sorcerer. To which my answer was much the same.

And on the other hand, I had some fan write me asking why I had gone into depth on the faith of a Muslim and a Christian and hadn't done the same for a Jew. If I did a Jew next season, I'd have someone else ask me why I hadn't done X religion or Y.

So, yes, for these reasons, I am dismissing your criticism. Not because I'm "hiding" or "blind" but because it is LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE for me to please everyone. So whom should I listen to? One "Anonymous" fan? Or an organization of human beings who are standing up to see that their people are treated well in Hollywood media. What makes you an expert over them? Why would I do what you want? So that I can "hide" behind you instead?

Basically, Brandon and I go with our gut while following the advise of people who work hard to see representation flourish in this industry, which in and of itself we see as important and necessary and as better storytelling. This isn't new territory for me either. I've been doing this kind of thing since Gargoyles.

There's no blind spot. I'm doing this on purpose. And I like it.

Response recorded on June 21, 2022

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Mohamed writes...

Hey, Greg.

Why did you stop casting child actors for the roles of child characters in Young Justice?

Greg responds...

We haven't stopped. Amistad, for example, was played by a child actor. We're just admittedly inconsistent about it, for a variety of factors. Usually, the reason is budgetary. If a child character only has a couple lines, and we think we have someone from the existing cast - in that specific episode - who can cover those lines, we may elect to save some money, so that we can spend it later on another actor. And then once we've cast someone, we rarely recast, unless (a) we have to because the original actor is unavailable or (b) the character has aged so much that the original actor is no longer appropriate.

Response recorded on June 21, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Dear Mr Weisman i have some Young justice questions for you 1.How old is Jason Blood and how long have he and the Phantom Stranger known each other? 2. I noticed some vary familiar looking artifacts in Mr blood's home that he told Mary not to touch. Have he or Etrigan ever traveled to any other universes outside of Earth 16 and the Dc multiverse including a universe where '' One thousand years ago superstition and the sword ruled'' to claim the artifacts ? 3. How long have Zatanna and Etrigan known each other ? 4. Did you consider hiring Dee Bradley Baker for the role of etrigan before hiring David Shaughnessy for the role instead ? P s thank you for giving my alien theory about the driver and kids on that school bus that Zatanna and her students avoided in the previous episode some footing

Greg responds...

1. Jason Blood was born @500 A.D.

1a. Long time.

2. I doubt it. But you never know.

3. A while.

4. Not that I recall. Love Dee. But I thought David - whom I worked with on Star Wars Rebels - would give us an amazing version of both Blood and Etrigan.

Response recorded on May 26, 2022

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Matt Itelson writes...

How did L-Ron have access to the Krolotean database?
Why didn't Despero speak in "Corned?"

By the way, Keith David, the voice of Mongul here, previously voiced Despero in Justice League.

Greg responds...

1. I dunno. Does it matter?

2. It was beneath him to communicate directly with inferiors.

3. Keith's a talented guy!

Response recorded on May 23, 2022

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Nick writes...

Did you hold auditions during the pandemic? If so, how did that work?

Greg responds...

We didn't hold in person auditions. We did have performers submit tapes of them performing the part for certain roles, e.g. Amistad Ervin. It's not as good a system - in theory - as you can't see how an actor takes direction. But fortunately, it all worked out for us remarkably well. Of course, we didn't hold a ton of auditions for roles this season. We mostly just cast new roles without auditioning. And some that we did audition for were done pre-pandemic. But again, I can't complain with the end results.

Response recorded on May 18, 2022

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Nick writes...

Forgot to ask: how did you cast Logan Browning?

Greg responds...

I'm pretty sure Jamie suggested her for the role. Brandon and I listened to her voice in other things, and we agreed. I don't think we held auditions for Onyx. But it was pre-pandemic, and my memory is fairly fuzzy of those days.

Response recorded on May 18, 2022

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Nick writes...

This season has some great new voice actors!

Can you tell us how you cast Carl Lumbly, Usman Ally, Erika Ishii, D.B. Woodside?

Greg responds...

1. Not that anyone was arguing with me over the choice, but I really wanted to cast Carl as M'gann's father. In part, as a tribute to his work on Justice League as J'onn J'onzz. But also cuz he's truly great, and I've been a fan of his going back all the way to Cagney & Lacey.

2. We held some auditions for someone who could play both Khalid AND Muhammed Nassour. And Khalid won the roles by being great at both.

3. We held auditions for someone who could play both Mary Bromfield and Child. Brandon and I had seen Erika perform an amazing stand-up routine about playing the violin and being frustrated by the ending of Game of Thrones, so she was one of the people we suggested as a possibility. And she killed it as both characters.

4. Brandon wanted to make Phantom Stranger Black, so he and Jamie Thomason and I began brainstorming who might be a good choice to play the role. I believe Jamie may have suggested D.B., and I was immediately enthusiastic based on his work in Lucifer and Buffy and 24 and other stuff that I've loved him in forever.

Response recorded on May 18, 2022

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Zachary Zatara writes...

Does Zatanna watch Lacey Chabert Hallmark movies?

Greg responds...

Doesn't everybody?

Response recorded on May 11, 2022

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Michael Broder writes...

Is Henchy an original character, based on someone from the comics, or both?
Have you ever thought of doing a motion comic where the actors read the whole comic?

Greg responds...

1. He's more-or-less original. He's based on a model created for the Green Arrow Showcase short and a specific voice that I love, which actor Steve Blum has used for me in multiple series: Raythor (W.I.T.C.H.), Blackie Gaxton (The Spectacular Spider-Man), Zeb (Star Wars Rebels).

2. Yes. I'd love to do that. But there's no budget for it, generally. The YJ Wiki did a few using volunteer labor and volunteer voice actors. Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42QKFkSy4DU

Oh, and what the heck, here's another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N3Z2b-UlTE

Response recorded on May 05, 2022

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Jason R Carter writes...

Minor question: is there a particular reason you had Atlanteans speaking more formally (i.e. little to no use of contractions) after "Infiltrator"?

Greg responds...

We were really following the lead of Khary Payton, who created the voice of Aqualad.

Response recorded on April 05, 2022

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Midori Tanaka writes...

Greg, first I wanted to thank you for continuing to explore Jade's character, love her bigger presence in Phantoms. Question: hpw fun is writing Artemis and Jade relationship?

Greg responds...

Very. Very, very.

They both have such distinct and complex personalities, scenes between them all but write themselves.

Plus, watching Kelly and Stephanie perform against each other - and we recorded their arc pre-pandemic when we were still recording the cast in groups - is always a treat. They really make great sisters!

Response recorded on April 04, 2022

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The Greenman writes...

My Question is more logistical. I am curious of the process of V.A.s specifically of Star Trek association.

I have been waiting on some actors to appear, but assume some are too expensive. For example I believe that you reached out to Patrick Stewart for a past project and that aforementioned issue left him unaffordable for your desire. I look at others who I haven't expected to see appearing animation projects i.e. K. Mulgrew reprising Captain Janeway.

As a Teekkie myself, I have been hoping more actors show up. One I've been hoping is Erick Avari who has such a unique voice. I also assume the legendary George Takei is practically off limits. Your thoughts, and are you open to the NEW series of Trek actors?

Greg responds...

Taking your last question first, absolutely.

I haven't priced anyone recently. I try not to think about that. Generally speaking, availability is a way bigger issue than cost, especially since the pandemic.

I worked with Kate Mulgrew, of course, on Gargoyles. Would love to work with her again with the right part. There are actually a ton of actors I've worked with before that I'd be thrilled to use again. But timing and role don't always sync up.

I voice directed George Takei on Team Atlantis. But I'm pretty sure that was on one of the episodes that never was completed or saw the light of day. I'm sure I have a cassette tape with his work on it in my storage room somewhere.

Haven't worked with Patrick Stewart, but it would be an honor. And I love Erick Avari. Saw him play King Lear once on stage. He was fantastic. But you have to be thinking of someone at the right time for the right role. It's more of a crapshoot than you'd probably guess.

Response recorded on March 09, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

How were auditioned done for season four? Was any done during the lock down?

Who suggested Logan Browning for Onyx? She's so good!

Greg responds...

1. I'm trying to remember if we did auditions for any character for season four... I'm not sure we did. Oh, wait. Yes. But that character hasn't appeared in the first thirteen yet.

2. Yes. The one character I'm thinking of we auditioned by sending copy out to agents, etc., and getting readings back.

3. I'm fairly certain that was Jamie Thomason. And I agree, Logan was amazing in the role!

Response recorded on March 09, 2022

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Verdragon writes...

So how exactly did you wind up doing additional voices for the Square Enix game "The Last Remnant"?

Greg responds...

I barely remember. But New Generation Pictures' Jonathan Klein, a former student of mine, has hired me on occasion, ever since I directed 3x3 Eyes for him.

Response recorded on February 23, 2022

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Family writes...

How old are Don and Dawn Allen?
Why did Chad Lowe replace his brother as the voice of Captain Marvel?
Why did the Ocean-Master attack Aquaman in the flashback in Downtime and what happened to him after he was defeated?
When did Guy Gardner join the Justice League?

Greg responds...

1. They were born in September of Team Year Six.

2. Rob was no longer available. We offered the part to Chad. He got his brother's blessing and took over.

3. They were enemies.

3a. He got away.

4. Team Year Two.

Response recorded on February 15, 2022

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Hazel writes...

1. Did Wendy Harris and Marvin White ever clue into the fact that the public hero Superboy was their old classmate?

2. As someone who absolutely adored Kelly Stables' work in W.I.T.C.H., I'm very happy that you roped her in to voice Cissie. Thanks.

3. I noticed that you gave Orphan a Z-designation, but not a B-designation. Was she even a formal member of the team when Season 3 started?

Greg responds...

1. No spoilers.

2. I was very happy, too! Kelly is always great!

3. Nope.

Response recorded on February 09, 2022

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Verdragon writes...

1. What was the casting process behind Jesse McCartney as Dick Grayson, and did it have anything to do with his roles as Roxas and Ventus in Kingdom Hearts?
2. What was the casting process behind Alyson Stoner as Barbara Gordon?

Greg responds...

1. He auditioned. We cast him.

1a. Nope.

2. I honestly don't remember. I know we didn't hold auditions for the part. I'm trying to recall if perhaps she auditioned for Miss Martian, and whether we perhaps liked her and kept her in mind. I had also worked with Alyson previously (when she was barely a teenager) on W.I.T.C.H., in which she played Lilian Hale. So maybe I suggested her. Or maybe Jamie Thomason did. I just can't recall.

Response recorded on January 26, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Dear Mr Weisman i have some Young justice related questions for you 1. Does Mrs M'orzz watch hallmark movies on a frequent basis as she was more familiar with the purpose a wedding ring then Mr M'orzz was? 2 Are any of Miss Martian sibling's (Em'ree and M'comm aside) members of the yellow Martian order? 3. what does Black canary do for a living?

Greg responds...

1. Only ones starring Danica McKellar or Lacey Chabert.

2. No spoilers.

3. She's a therapist, and she also owns a flower shop.

Response recorded on January 11, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Why did Alan Tudyk only voiced on episode of season 3? Did he become unavailable because he’s becoming more high profile?

Were Troy Baker and Nolan North together in the studio for season 4? They broke off their partnership on YouTube. Are they still friendly?

Greg responds...

1. Green Arrow only appeared with a speaking role in one episode in Season Three.

2. They were definitely in the studio together pre-pandemic. They seemed friendly to me.

Response recorded on January 06, 2022

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ruby writes...

This is my first time writing in, so I just wanted to say thanks for having this website up! I can't imagine the amount of time it takes to answer everything. It's truly appreciated. I picked up YJ not long after the third season wrapped up, and I'm delighted I got into it when I did.

I especially have to thank you (and the rest of the YJ crew, of course) for Artemis. I was in a bit of a rough patch when I watched it first, and I saw a lot of myself in her. Watching her overcome her fears, especially in the first season, was a reassuring inspiration. There's been more than a few times when I found myself thinking of her as I braved through things. She means a lot to me, and I'm thrilled to see her still working things out now, even though she's been through so much. (I was beyond excited when we found out she's leading the Team now! I can't wait to see that!)

Anyway, I've had these lying around for a bit, so here we go.

1) You recently mentioned some of the organizations you’ve reached out to for help with YJ’s characters of color, cultures you’re unfamiliar with, and the LGBTQ+ community. It’s wonderful to hear that you’re working with them! Which other groups have you worked with (both today and during the first and second seasons) and how does that relationship work?

2) What does a day in the life look like in the YJ acting booth? (I have to imagine it’s pretty fun with that particular group of actors and directors!) Any idea when you’ll be able to record in person again?

3) From what I understand about acting (both voice and “regular”), it’s incredibly important for actors to be able to play off of each other. How does that work with recording during the pandemic? Do actors record lines individually and then play off those recordings, or are Zoom meetings used to imitate the booth as much as possible?

4) One last question about voice acting: how much influence do your actors have over the characters' personalities? Are their ideas about the characters integrated into the writing?

5) I’ve always loved the glimpses we’ve seen of YJ’s interpretation of Atlantis. Many of the versions I’ve seen are basically just a very large underwater city with little oceanic inspiration. YJ’s version seems to have been created with a lot of thought toward how the structure of the seafloor and plant life interact with it, as well as the intense influence of magic. The colors also often feel particularly vibrant and ocean-like. Given that you’re not one of the artists, I’d guess you may not know much about how it was designed, but is there any insight you could give to choices made regarding Atlantis’s design and culture?

I've just seen the first episode of Phantoms, and it's looking spectacular so far. Good luck with finishing up post-production, and thank you again for your hard work!

Greg responds...

1. I'm going to hold off answering which other organizations we've worked with for now, as I think revealing the organizations would by default reveal content. I'd be happy to answer this after the season's over. But I've already stated that we've been working with GLAAD and OUT and MPAC (Hollywood Division). Plus, we've run every single outline and script by Dr. Janina Scarlet (superhero-therapy.com and @shadowQuill on Twitter). She's helped us with psychological and therapeutic details, while also generally acting as a sensitivity reader for our work. And there's also Warner Bros' own DEI department, who've been very helpful. There are more organizations, but the rest will have to wait for now. As for process, it can differ slightly. But generally, we discuss the stuff we were thinking about doing with them and get their feedback. Then we show them our outlines. Then our scripts. Sometimes even animatics or animation. At each step, we listen, take their notes and make sure everyone feels good about what we're doing before we take the next step in the process. We don't do anything that doesn't work for our story and characters. But we admit to ignorance on many fronts and many levels, and we like educating ourselves and allowing that education to be reflected in the work.

2. Well, it is fun! (Or, you know, most of the time. Nothing's perfect.) But pre-pandemic, we'd bring a majority of any episode's cast in together. (Although our casts are SO big, that sometimes we might split that cast into two shifts, trying to get folks who have scenes together to record together.) Jamie usually has them do a first run through without much direction. Then he might dive in and nuance an exchange or a line. Or even a certain phrase. We like to have options, but we want to make sure we get at least one version that hits the nail on the head. And we also make sure that we have at least two versions of every line. Post-pandemic, everyone was recording alone. Which is still great but not quite as much fun. There's a lot of playing back what one actor did for the other actor. (Whomever went first, kinda gets to set the tone for any scene, in these cases.) As for when we'll get back to recording in person, I don't know. Not on Season Four. That's all fully recorded.

3. See above.

4. After an episode or two, we definitely begin to incorporate their performances into their characters. With regulars or our long time recurring actors, we often sit down and talk to the actors about their characters, and I'm not at all adverse to listening to their takes on their own characters and importing those ideas into future episodes.

5. We wanted to fully bring their culture and milleu to life. To see Posiedonis - which is all you've seen of Atlantis so far - as its inhabitants see it.

Thank you for watching!

Response recorded on October 25, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

I saw some short videos with panels of young justice comis on youtube narrated by voice actors of the show

https://youtu.be/42QKFkSy4DU

where can are the complete videos?

Greg responds...

They don't exist. These were brief pieces produced by the YJ Wiki (https://youngjustice.fandom.com/wiki/Young_Justice_Wiki) with the voluntary (and unpaid) participation of members of our wonderful cast done to promote our companion (and fully canonical) comics to get more of our fans to read them.

Response recorded on October 25, 2021

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Max Scream writes...

Can you describe the recording process of Young Justice: Phantoms? Was it ENTIRELY done separately? Was it done via video-conferencing? Did each actor get the entire script or just their lines?

Greg responds...

The first half - or nearly half - of the season was done the way we always have, with group recordings predominantly, while picking up the occasional actor at a different time, based on availability.

About halfway through the season, we temporarily stopped recording because of the pandemic.

So in order to keep our board artists supplied with vocal tracks and working (from home), we began recording scratch tracks, using myself, Brandon, voice director Jamie Thomason, Talent coordinator Laura Lopez, editor Cris Mertens, and my wife and kids.

Then we began recording actors individually from home. Some of these actors have fantastic home studio set-ups. Others, well... not so much. We weren't video-conferencing with them, but we were audio-conferencing.

Then we switched from BangZoom Studios for our records to Atlas Oceanic Picture & Sound, which had a booth with a door that opened right into their parking lot. That way an actor could drive up and stay in their car until called for. Then they could walk right into the studio without any contact with any other human being. The engineer was in the control room, and the rest of us - including Jamie - were all listening in from our homes. Then when that actor was done, the booth would be sanitized before the next actor entered. Some of our performers still worked from home, but about half came to Atlas. It was always the choice of the actor.

And every actor always gets the entire script.

Response recorded on October 25, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Earlier this year, two of Disney's television animated series included allusions to "Gargoyles". The first was the series finale of "Duck Tales", which had an already-established character, a headless horse named Manny, become a Goliath-counterpart (including a scene where he grows a head and wings while the theme music of "Gargoyles" plays, then cries - voiced by Keith David - "I live again, again!" - it makes sense in context). The second was in the Season Two finale of "Amphibia", where one of the characters is seen looking through a book on legends, which had a picture of Goliath drawn in the style of Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man".

I was wondering if you'd heard of these two nods to the show, and if so, what you thought of them.

Greg responds...

I'd heard about both, though I haven't seen them myself.

It tickles me.

Response recorded on October 25, 2021


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