'Sweet Tooth' Featurette: Robert Downey Jr. Talks About Tweaking The Source Material For The Netflix Adaptation

Jeff Lemire's comic book series Sweet Tooth is getting the Netflix treatment as a streaming show, courtesy of executive producers Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey. In a new featurette, the two talk about altering the tone of Lemire's comics from the "foreboding" vibe of the graphic novels to something that is much more family-friendly...which I'm guessing purists who love Lemire's comics will not exactly be thrilled about. Check out the featurette below.

Is it just me, or was it a little weird for anyone else to see Downey working on a DC production after spending so much of his career being the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? I know several actors have made the jump between those two companies before, and it doesn't even seem like Downey is going to be playing an on-screen role in this show at all, but still – it's almost like seeing Toucan Sam working behind the scenes for Lucky Charms or something.

In any case, I'm curious to see what co-showrunners Jim Mickle (Cold in July) and Beth Schwartz (DC's Legend of Tomorrow) have up their sleeves here, and exactly how far this adaptation will stray from Lemire's source material. Christian Convery (Beautiful Boy, Tiger Rising, Playing With Fire,) Nonso Anozie (The Laundromat, Zoo, Game of Thrones), Adeel Akhtar (Les Misérables [TV series], Victoria & Abdul, The Big Sick), and Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth, Saturday Night Live) lead the cast, with James Brolin (Life in Pieces, Amityville Horror, Westworld) as the voice of the narrator.

Here is the synopsis for the series:

Ten years ago 'The Great Crumble' wreaked havoc on the world and led to the mysterious emergence of hybrids — babies born part human, part animal. Unsure if hybrids are the cause or result of the virus, many humans fear and hunt them. After a decade of living safely in his secluded forest home, a sheltered hybrid deer-boy named Gus (Christian Convery) unexpectedly befriends a wandering loner named Jepperd (Nonso Anozie). Together they set out on an extraordinary adventure across what's left of America in search of answers — about Gus' origins, Jepperd's past, and the true meaning of home. But their story is full of unexpected allies and enemies, and Gus quickly learns the lush, dangerous world outside the forest is more complex than he ever could have imagined.

Sweet Tooth premieres on Netflix on June 4, 2021.