Ricky Church chats with Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen star Chandler Riggs…
Tomorrow is the release of Warner Bros. Animation and Rooster Teeth’s crossover film Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One, which finds Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern and Vixen in new iterations – transformed into teenagers while in transport to RWBY’s world, and presented in Rooster Teeth’s anime-influenced animation – and partnering with the heroes of Remnant (Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang) to battle a mysterious, superpowered creature before it destroys everything they know.
We spoke with The Walking Dead actor Chandler Riggs who voices Superman in the film. It just so happened the day of our interview was the 85th anniversary of Superman’s introduction in Action Comics #1, released April 18th, 1938. We chatted about Superman’s decades-long popularity, voicing a teenaged version of the Man of Steel, Riggs’ love of Rooster Teeth series RWBY and Red vs. Blue and the common misconception that Superman is ‘boring’ because of his powers. Check out our interview below…
Ricky Church: Justice League x RWBY is a crossover that a lot of DC and RWBY fans didn’t see coming. How has it been for you to star in this film? Were you a DC or RWBY fan before this?
Chandler Riggs: Oh, man, it was really, really cool. I was actually a fan of Rooster Teeth for many, many, many years. When I was really young, I loved Red vs Blue and I had all the DVDs and everything, but I kind of like tapered off Rooster Teeth once RWBY started coming out so I wasn’t super familiar with RWBY. When this came through, I’m getting an email with the words Justice League x RWBY in the title, like I freaked out! It was just the craziest, coolest email in my life! I had to go back and watch a lot of stuff with RWBY and get as caught up as I could because it’s such a diehard fan base and a community that really, really loves those characters and the storylines, everything they go through. It’s really so admiring and to be a part of the DC universe. I play a character that’s so beloved by so many, it’s crazy! It’s so crazy. To marry these two worlds together, to play characters that are a part of both worlds, it’s so cool.
Yeah, for sure. Now you mentioned playing a character who’s so beloved so it’s funny that we’re speaking today of all days, because I’m not sure if you know this, but today is the 85th anniversary of the publication of Action Comics #1 which introduced Superman to the world!
I heard about that, yeah!
Why do you think Superman has remained such a huge figure in pop culture for the last 85 years and shows no signs of slowing down?
Yeah, it’s really incredible. It’s a character that so many people want to be like this guy. When you think of a hero or a leader, one of the first things that comes to I think everybody’s mind is Superman. It’s just a character that we all want to be more like, we all want to be seen more like this guy. You know what I mean? It’s a character that everyone can kind of look up to. I feel like that’s kind of why it’s persisted throughout for so long, because he’s a guy that everybody wants to be like.
One of the cool things is that not only are you playing Superman in Justice League x RWBY, but you’re playing a teen version of Superman. What do you think is different playing Superman as a teen as opposed to the adult superhero we usually see him as?
You know, that was actually one of the toughest parts of making this and building this character. I had to go for the adult Superman at first, which was figure out how he thinks, how he walks, talks, how he holds himself, everything. And then I had to go and figure out, okay, with this layer of adolescence, with the different brain chemistry, with the hormones, with everything else that’s going through him, how does that change him? How does that change how he walks and talks and sees himself. There’s so many things and aspects that went into that character. It was a really fun challenge and kind of uncharted territory too. It was awesome and such a unique, fun experience.
And we often see Superman alongside either his normal characters, like Lois Lane, or his Justice League teammates, but in this he’s mostly with Ruby and her friends. Particularly, he has a connection with Ruby and her role as the group’s leader. So what can you tell us about their relationship?
It’s interesting because the Clark Kent/Superman in this world, he’s lost a lot of the powers which are such a big part of his identity for him. And he’s not with his friends and he doesn’t know what’s going on or anything that’s happening. He’s with people that don’t care about who he is. Like adult Superman probably wouldn’t care about that, but teenage Superman might care about how people see him, might care about all these different things. It was really, really cool just watching throughout the story how it unfolded. Ruby giving Superman advice and all this stuff and vice versa at the end. It was just a really just a cool experience to have Superman and give him this arc. I feel like in general, Superman is kind of a stagnant character in today’s media, there’s not a lot of character development that he goes through. He got to go through some character development in this and it was a really fun change, and especially to do it along alongside a character like Ruby Rose is, it was really, really fun to watch and fun to be a part of.
Earlier you said that you saw RWBY back when it started and then when you got this role, you dove back into it to catch up. For Superman or Justice League fans who might not have seen RWBY before, what can they expect out of this?
Well, you know, anime as a medium has a different form of storytelling and world building than typical animated shows. It’s definitely a change in pace for DC fans watching a show like this, it’s different. The writing style is different. The exposition is different. There’s a so much that goes into anime that is so much different than Western media. It’s definitely a change in pace, but the great thing is that it welcomes new people with open arms, you know? It’s a very welcoming medium of entertainment, a very welcoming community, and I’m hoping that it opens the doors for DC fans to watch a lot more shows like this or movies like this.
One of the common misconceptions that I’ve seen about Superman is “he has too many powers. He’s too boring. We can’t relate to him.” You even said yourself a moment ago that some media keeps him stagnant and doesn’t try advancing him. What do you think this movie does to change that perspective a little bit or to make it more relatable? How do you think audiences can relate to him more?
Yeah. Well, you know, seeing a character like Superman, I mean we all have a very clear define image of what Superman should be in our minds. And to see him kind of stripped down in a lot of that and fall into this world where, like I was saying, not a lot of people care about who he is here or that his name is Superman. It sounds silly here. It’s all sorts of stuff that affects his self-esteem. It’s a side of him that he likely hadn’t experienced in many, many years as an adult. Getting to showcase that side, I think it makes him a much more relatable character. People can watch that and be like “oh yeah, I’ve been there” or know someone that’s been there and can relate to that in some way. I think this film specifically, will hopefully maybe, will see the character in a new light and see that he’s gone through some of the same stuff that we all go through.
Now there’s so many superheroes both in DC and Marvel and other comic publishers. Do you have a specific favorite? Who would that be and why?
Oh, man. I mean, when I was a kid I loved Spider-Man. I think Spider-Man was like really high up there, but when I think I was like 14 or 15, the first season of The Flash came out and I watched that show just religiously! I loved that show! It was on every single week. That’s like, oh man. It’s just a cool character, a cool superhero, and Grant Gustin did such an amazing job playing the character for so long. Yeah, I’d say The Flash for sure.
Thank you to Chandler Riggs for speaking with us!
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One is set for release on April 25th, 2023.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
