Creature Commandos
Genre
Created byJames Gunn
Based onCharacters
from DC
Written byJames Gunn
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Karina Benesh
  • Kip Brown
  • Lisa Hallbauer
Production companies
Original release
NetworkMax
Related
DCU TV series

Creature Commandos is an upcoming American adult animated television series based on DC Comics featuring the eponymous team. Produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation, it will be the first television series in the DC Universe (DCU) and the first installment overall. It focuses on a black ops team of monsters assembled by Amanda Waller. All seven episodes were written by James Gunn.

Frank Grillo stars as Rick Flag Sr. in the series, alongside Maria Bakalova, Indira Varma, Zoë Chao, Alan Tudyk, David Harbour, Sean Gunn, and Steve Agee. After Gunn and Peter Safran became co-CEOs of DC Studios in October 2022, Gunn began writing a new DCU television series that was revealed to be Creature Commandos in January 2023. Production on the series had begun by then and casting was underway. The cast was announced that April. Animation for the series is provided by Bobbypills.

Creature Commandos will be released on the streaming service Max in late 2024. It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

Premise

Amanda Waller assembles a black ops team of monsters called the Creature Commandos.[1]

Cast and characters

Additionally, Viola Davis reprises her role as Amanda Waller from prior DC media.[1] Anya Chalotra has been cast as Circe.[8][9]

Production

Background

James Gunn was hired in October 2018 to write and direct The Suicide Squad (2021),[10][11] a standalone sequel to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Suicide Squad (2016) which retained some cast members but otherwise told its own story.[12] He worked with producer Peter Safran, who also produced the DCEU films Aquaman (2018) and Shazam! (2019).[13] They later expanded The Suicide Squad into a spin-off television series, Peacemaker (2022–present), for the streaming service HBO Max.[14] Discovery, Inc. and Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia merged in April 2022 to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary.[15] Gunn and Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios at the end of October 2022.[16] A week after starting their new roles, the pair had begun developing an eight-to-ten-year plan for a new DC Universe (DCU) that would be a "soft reboot" of the DCEU.[17][18][19] Gunn and Safran said some cast members would return from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker in the DCU, and a "rough memory" of the events of those projects would remain.[20]

Development

Gunn revealed that he was in the middle of writing a new DCU television series in January 2023.[21] On January 31, Gunn and Safran unveiled the first projects from their DCU slate, which begins with Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. The first project in the slate was Creature Commandos, an animated series for HBO Max's successor, Max, based on a black ops team of the same name featuring various monsters from DC Comics. Gunn had already written the seven episodes and production had begun. It was expected to be released as an "aperitif" for the DCU before the film Superman: Legacy, which was scheduled for release on July 11, 2025.[3][1] Warner Bros. Animation co-produces the series.[22] Executive producers of the series include DC Studios' Gunn and Safran, Warner Bros. Animation's Sam Register, and Dean Lorey.[23]

Writing

Created for Weird War Tales #93 (1980) by J. M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick, the Creature Commandos were originally a team of monsters fighting Nazis during World War II.[3][24] The series depicts a modern version of the team being assembled by Amanda Waller, and consists of the characters Rick Flag Sr., Nina Mazursky, Doctor Phosphorus, Eric Frankenstein, the Bride of Frankenstein, G.I. Robot, and Weasel. Gunn said the Bride of Frankenstein was the lead character of the series.[1] Waller, Weasel, and Flag's son Rick Flag Jr. previously appeared in The Suicide Squad.[3]

Casting and voice recording

Gunn and Safran said Viola Davis would reprise her role as Amanda Waller from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker in the DCU,[20] and she was confirmed to be voicing the character in Creature Commandos with the series' announcement. Further casting was underway by then, with Gunn and Safran intending to hire actors who could voice the characters in the series and also portray them in live-action DCU projects;[1] as such, actors performed on-camera auditions for the series, instead of voice-over as is common in animation.[25] Casting was almost complete by late February 2023.[26] In April, the cast was announced, with Frank Grillo as Flag,[4] Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic (an original character created for the series),[2][27] Zoë Chao as Mazursky, Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus, David Harbour as Frankenstein, Indira Varma as the Bride of Frankenstein, Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot in addition to returning as Weasel from The Suicide Squad, and Steve Agee reprising his role as John Economos from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.[2][5] James Gunn said Harbour was his first choice for Frankenstein,[28] and that by then, some of the actors were already planned for live-action appearances, with Grillo cast across all DCU media.[27] Voice recording began by May 2023,[7][29] and was completed by that August.[30] In November 2023, Anya Chalotra was reported to have been cast as Circe,[8] which Gunn confirmed in January 2024.[9]

Animation

Production on the series was underway by the end of January 2023. Gunn said animation was a way to "tell stories that are gigantic" without spending $50 million per episode.[3] Animation studio Bobbypills worked on the animation for the series.[31]

Release

Creature Commandos is scheduled to be released in late 2024,[32] on the streaming service Max.[7] It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Massoto, Erick (January 31, 2023). "Creature Commandos: Meet the Cast of the New DC Animated Series". Collider. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Oddo, Marco Vito (April 12, 2023). "Here's the Full Cast of DC's Creatures Commandos [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vary, Adam B. (January 31, 2023). "New DC Universe Unveils First 10 Projects: Superman: Legacy in 2025, Batman & Robin Movie, Green Lantern Series, Wonder Woman Prequel and More". Variety. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Gonzalez, Umberto (April 12, 2023). "Frank Grillo to Play the DCU's Rick Flag in Creature Commandos (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Vary, Adam B. (April 12, 2023). "DC's Creature Commandos Unveils Voice Cast: David Harbour, Indira Varma, Alan Tudyk and More". Variety. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ O'Rourke, Ryan (August 8, 2023). "David Harbour on His 'Wildly Funny' Creature Commandos Role [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Weiss, Josh (May 11, 2023). "Sean Gunn Talks 'Tough' Heartache Of Guardians Vol. 3 & Exploring Weasel's Backstory In Creature Commandos". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Behbakht, Andy (November 3, 2023). "The DCU's First God-Tier Wonder Woman Villain Seemingly Confirmed By Actor CV". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Behbakht, Andy (January 14, 2024). "James Gunn Confirms Major Wonder Woman Villain Casting For First DC Universe Project". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  10. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 9, 2018). "James Gunn Boards Suicide Squad 2 To Write And Possibly Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  11. ↑ Couch, Aaron; McClintock, Pamela (January 30, 2019). "The Batman, The Suicide Squad Set 2021 Release Dates". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  12. ↑ Davis, Brandon (July 6, 2021). "The Suicide Squad Producer Rules Out Connections To Previous Film". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ Mancuso, Vinnie (July 6, 2021). "The Suicide Squad Producer Explains How the Film Connects to Suicide Squad: 'We Don't Address It'". Collider. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  14. ↑ White, Peter (September 23, 2020). "The Suicide Squad TV Spinoff Peacemaker Starring John Cena From James Gunn Ordered By HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  15. ↑ Lang, Brent; Donnelly, Matt (April 14, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Exploring Overhaul of DC Entertainment (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  16. ↑ Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (October 25, 2022). "DC Shocker: James Gunn, Peter Safran to Lead Film, TV and Animation Division (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  17. ↑ Couch, Aaron (November 10, 2022). "James Gunn, Peter Safran Are Mapping Out 'Eight- to 10-Year Plan' for DC". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  18. ↑ Outlaw, Kofi (October 25, 2022). "Warner Bros. Confirms 'DC Universe' As Official Name of DCEU". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  19. ↑ Newby, Richard (February 3, 2023). "6 Burning Questions About DC Studios' New Slate". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Lussier, Germain (January 31, 2023). "James Gunn DC Slate Q&A: Flash, Aquaman, Crossover, More". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  21. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 6, 2023). "James Gunn Teases an 'Unannounced DC TV Show' He Is Busy Writing". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  22. ↑ Bonomolo, Cameron (January 31, 2023). "DC Studios Actors to Play Animated and Live-Action Roles in New DC Universe". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  23. ↑ Meenan, Devin (October 28, 2023). "Creature Commandos – Release Window, Cast, Writer And More Info". /Film. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  24. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 31, 2023). "James Gunn & Peter Safran Unveil Big DC Plan With New Movies For Batman & Robin, Swamp Thing, The Authority; Lanterns TV Series & More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  25. ↑ Gunn, James [@JamesGunn] (April 12, 2023). "On camera auditions" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ Dominguez, Noah (February 24, 2023). "DCU's Creature Commandos Gets a Major Casting Update". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  27. 1 2 Graves, Sabina (April 12, 2023). "Welcome James Gunn's Creature Commandos Cast to DC Studios". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  28. ↑ Barnhardt, Adam (March 6, 2023). "James Gunn Debunks Major Henry Cavill Rumor for DC Return". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  29. ↑ Crowley, Liam (May 11, 2023). "Sean Gunn Reveals DC's Creature Commandos Has Begun Production (Exclusive)". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  30. ↑ Brail, Nathaniel (August 5, 2023). "James Gunn Confirms How Many Episodes DC's Creature Commandos Will Be". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  31. ↑ Bobbypills (April 2023). "Our Bobbypills crew had an amazing time at the exclusive preview of the upcoming Marvel Studios production last Saturday: Guardian of the Galaxy vol. 3. It was an honor to meet the cast, and we're incredibly grateful for the opportunity. 🚀🦝 We want to give a big thank you to James Gunn, Peter Safran & Warner Bros. Animation for their trust in us on Creature Commando. Your support means a lot, and we're excited to collaborate with you on such an exciting project. What a great time to be an animation artist". Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via LinkedIn.
  32. ↑ Outlaw, Kofi (December 20, 2023). "Creature Commandos: James Gunn Confirms Release Window for First DCU Project". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
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