DC Studios took the massive Empire Stage at New York Comic Con today for the Max series Creature Commandos. And along for the ride were the cast and crew for the first big outing for James Gunn’s new DCU.
At the panel for the animated series was James Gunn (DC Studios Co-Chair and CEO; Executive Producer and Writer), Dean Lorey (Executive Producer), Frank Grillo (Rick Flag Sr.), David Harbour (Frankenstein), Zoë Chao (Nina Mazursky), Maria Bakalova (Princess Ilana Rostovic), Steve Agee (Economos), and Sean Gunn (GI Robot and Weasel).
Things kicked off by discussing why Creature Commandos begins the new DCU. “Well, the reason is very technical,” Gunn said. “It was written when I started [at] DC Studios.”
He was already in the process of pitching the show by Warner Bros. when he got hired. “I very graciously greenlighted it,” quipped Gunn.
So what about how it connects visually with the rest of the DCU? Does it set a tone? Gunn shouted out some of the other DC projects, saying “Supergirl, it’s going tremendously well,” as well as Lanterns in process, and Superman. That said? “Each project out of DC Studios is going to be its own thing,” Gunn said. “It’s a connected universe, but there’s not an overall aesthetic.”
As for working on this show, Gunn called it a fantastic process, and the best time he’s had working with a director who wasn’t himself. In fact, he called this his best working experience — better than Guardians, or anything else.
Then moving on to talk about the characters, Steve Agee joked that, “Economos is steadily staying the same. His arc is a straight line to awesomeness.” He added that the character is pretty much the same through this show, and into Peacemaker Season 2.
David Harbour’s Frankenstein harkens back to the original, Alan Tudyk’s Doctor Phosphorus is terrifying and “not a good man.” How about Bakalova? She couldn’t say much, other than she was honored to have Gunn create a character for her. And then there’s the other Gunn, Sean Gunn, who was joking about the people “clamoring” for more Weasel after The Suicide Squad. But more exciting for him was his other role. “GI Robot hates Nazis,” Sean Gunn said. “Which, I hate Nazis. So I immediately have something to sink my teeth into.”
The conversation then jumped back to Frankenstein, who of course has a relationship with the Bride. “I think people will be really surprised by it, as I was,” teased Harbour. “There’s a bit of a bromance between Frankenstein and Rick Flag Sr.”
…But there’s a bit of a romance with Rick Flag Sr. and Princess Ilana Rostovic in Episode 2. “We have kind of an X-Rated scene,” said Grillo, with Gunn shooting back, “It’s not X-Rated.”
“It’s a Hard R!” said Grillo, with Gunn adding that he has a video of Grillo and Bakalova making out with their hands in the sound booth that he’ll release after the episode airs.
Moving to the interconnection of the DCU, Gunn noted that Grillo plays Rick Flag, Sr. in Superman and Peacemaker Season 2. Grillo tried to make his hair look like it did in animation, but he was filming Tulsa King at the time so they got as close as they could.
Gunn also added that cameos in Creature Commandos include Michael Rooker, Peter Serafinowicz, Linda Cardellini, and Ben Davis.
Gunn also talked about the structure of the show, which brings the team together in the first episode, but after that has a Lost-style structure with flashbacks to different points in the characters’ lives each episode — not just origin stories. And on that note, Gunn also noted that this isn’t Guardians where the characters are good. “The characters aren’t all perfect,” Gunn said, adding that sometimes characters die for “no reason,” unlike, say, Yondu dying for a greater purpose. Gunn recalls walking over to his wife after writing Episode 4 and saying, “I think this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever written.”
And Lorey agreed saying that unlike Harley Quinn or Kite Man, they’re able to go a little more dramatic than “pure comedy.”
Talk then turned to the broader DCU, with Gunn noting that on connections between Creature Commandos and other shows? “We want people to come in totally blind,” Gunn said. “However there are things mentioned in the past, and then they become canon to the DCU.”
Then some updates from Gunn on the broader DCU!
Peacemaker: “Peacemaker, we’re shooting it now… The new series has been going exceptionally well… John Cena has improved in a way as an actor… I have never seen anyone who has gotten so much better in such a short time.”
Superman: “Krypto is something that’s just been amazing, we’ve been working with him in the edit, he’s an incredible part of the story… We’re deep in the process of editing. David Corenswet, he is going to blow people the fuck away… I don’t think anyone really understands this guy dramatically, comedically… Rachel Brosnahan, people are going to die for her as well.”
“It won’t be too long before we see a trailer, but it won’t be too soon.”
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: “We start shooting in England in January. I just saw the screentest for Ruthye with Milly Alocock, and oh my god, I’m so excited.”
Lanterns: Gunn mentioned that Aaron Pierre was up for Adam Warlock, and he’s wanted to work with him for a long time.
in brief he said that “It’s a very grounded series, it’s a very real series.”
You can watch the new trailer, below:
Creature Commandos premieres December 5 2024 on Max.
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