It looks like some changes are coming to ‘Doom Patrol’ before the series begins filming. The team will appear on the live action ‘ Titans,’ and aparently the brass at the new DC Universe streaming service were so impressed with their depiction on that show, that they ordered a spin-off. But the latest rumor is that one major change is in store. Bruno Bichir was cast as Niles Caulder, also called The Chief. But now word has it that producers are looking to cast veteran Kelsey Grammer in that role.
‘Titans’ is currently wrapping up filming its first season, so the ‘Doom Patrol’ episode, which is the fifth out of thirteen, was completed some time ago. It’s unknown if reshoots will be needed to have Grammer replace Bichir.
Here is the character description for The Chief:
Eccentric, brilliant, paternal, and mysterious. The Chief is a noted scientist, wealthy investor and, of course, leader of The Doom Patrol. The Chief rescued each member of his team from horrific accidents, nurtured them to health, resuscitated their self-esteem and sent them into the world to defend a populace that sees them as little more than freaks. His disarming manner does little to conceal a steely determination and unwavering devotion to defending Earth from Evil’s oddest entities.
It is also possible that there is some twist that explains why Bichir and Grammer might be playing a character by the same name. Is one an impostor? A decoy? Or was the intel that Bichir was playing The Chief erroneous? Or is the Kelsey Grammer news just a false rumor?
‘Titans’ has also cast April Bowlby as Elasti-Girl/Rita Farr, Jake Michaels as Robotman/Cliff Steele, and Dwain Murphy as Negative Man/Larry Trainor. In addition, ‘Doom Patrol’ will add Cyborg and Crazy Jane, but there is no word on their casting just yet, or even when ‘Doom Patrol’ will begin production.
Grammer is still best known for playing Doctor Frasier Crane, first on ‘Cheers’ from 1983-1993 and then on his own series ‘Frasier’ which ran for 11 seasons from 1993-2004. After that, he went on to star in the series ‘Back to You’, ‘Hank’, ‘Boss’, ‘Partners’ and ‘The Last Tycoon’. He has also served as a voice actor on ‘The Simpsons’ as recurring villain Sideshow Bob and as Blinky on Netflix’s ‘Trollhunters’. He has begun appearing in more and more action roles, most recently in the low-budget ‘Guardians of the Tomb’ with Kellan Lutz and Bingbing Li. But he is probably best remembered for playing the Beast in the ‘X-Men’ franchise or appearances in ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ or ‘The Expendables 3’.
Grammer would probably be a perfect fit for the role of Niles Caulder, it just remains to be seen how they explain it.
Warner Bros has not announced when DC Universe will launch, but the latest word is late August. ‘Titans’ will be one of the first original offerings.
Source: That Hashtag Show
