Creature Commandos has just become James Gunn’s third consecutive critically acclaimed project for DC, but it’s his first creative output from his new DCU slate as co-head of DC Studios. Technically speaking, it’s the fifth celebrated project in a row since he oversaw Matt Reeves’ DC Elseworlds’ HBO series, The Penguin, as well as the Sundance acquisition of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. Gunn did not intend for his new animated series to launch the rebooted DC universe, but immediately following the ratings juggernaut that was Peacemaker season one, HBO Max, now Max, asked Gunn if he had another streaming series in him. He proceeded to write all seven episodes of Creature Commandos on spec, and just as he was dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, he was hired by Warner Bros. Discovery to shepherd the entire universe alongside his longtime friend and producer, Peter Safran. Thus, Creature Commandos is first up to bat since the 7-episode series was already in motion.
In late 2022, after turning in his Creature Commandos scripts, Gunn knew that he needed to hire a showrunner while he and Safran conceived the rest of the DCU’s first chapter. That eight- to ten-year plan is now known as “Gods and Monsters,” featuring a handful of films, TV series and games, including 2025’s Superman, the DCU’s “true beginning.” All the while, Dean Lorey, who co-created Max’s beloved animated series Harley Quinn (2019), was helping Gunn bring Creature Commandos to fruition. But as swamped as Gunn was with Superman and various other tasks, Lorey is grateful that the filmmaker and studio co-chair was still able to be hands-on with Creature Commandos, versus redirecting him to other parties.
“To tell you the truth, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had. I didn’t have to go through anybody else. It was one-stop shopping,” Lorey tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Gunn adds: “[Going through multiple people] can be a pain in the ass. Honestly, [working directly] was something good that I got from Marvel. There was a very clear back and forth [with Marvel], and while there was sometimes arguing in the best of ways, it always led to something different. It wasn’t like people were taking sides. The politics of it was gone, and that’s the way that we did Creature Commandos. It was me working together with Dean to create the best thing, and none of us had egos.”
Creature Commandos takes place shortly after Peacemaker season one, as Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) sidesteps the congressional ruling that she can no longer enlist human prisoners for A.R.G.U.S.’s dangerous missions by now using imprisoned monsters. As a result, Waller hands a new operation and team to Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), the father of the fallen Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), who was murdered by Peacemaker/Christopher Smith (John Cena) in Gunn’s DC debut, The Suicide Squad (2021). Grillo’s older Flag will also play a key role in the upcoming Superman film and second season of Peacemaker, all of which serves as an example of the kind of synergy that Gunn hopes to maintain between animation and live-action.
As for the DCU’s upcoming live-action launch, Gunn is currently test-screening Superman (2025), and he remains absolutely bullish about David Corenswet’s Superman/Clark Kent.
“Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, David Corenswet is going to freak everyone out with how great he is,” Gun insists. “He is one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with, and he can do everything. The man is incredible.”
Gunn has also just wrapped Peacemaker season two, and he’s excited about the deviation that’s coming the audience’s way in late 2025.
“Season two of Peacemaker is also going to take people by surprise,” Gunn shares. “We take a very different route than the first season, and it’s a really magical story that people are going to be blown away by.”
Below, during a conversation with THR, Gunn and Lorey also address the question surrounding what is and isn’t canon from the now-defunct DCEU, as well as a potential second season of Creature Commandos.
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James, when you and Peter Safran brainstormed your master plan for the DCU, what made Creature Commandos the right entry point?
JAMES GUNN Well, it really wasn’t meant to be that. The main thing is that it was already written. (Laughs) HBO Max asked me to do another show after the success of Peacemaker, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. Committing to a TV show is a big deal, so I just started playing with different ideas, and then I started writing Creature Commandos on spec. I wrote all seven episodes in a few weeks, and then right around the time that I was finishing those scripts, I got hired as the co-head of DC Studios. So we were ready to go [with Creature Commandos].
Dean, I presume you did double duty between Creature Commandos and Harley Quinn, but once James turned in all the scripts, did he basically pass the baton to you?
DEAN LOREY I supervised production and shepherded it forward, but James was still very involved in every step. We sent him the voice records cut together, the animatics, everything, so James was very much a part of the whole process.
James juggles 700 things at the same time, so I just assumed he had to delegate.
LOREY I don’t know how he does it!
GUNN Every time I dealt with Creature Commandos, it was like Christmas for me. Taking on a project the size of Superman is just crazy. It’s hard and stressful. But the [Creature Commandos] guys were doing such amazing work, and the cast was so incredible. They just kept sending me one great thing after another, but I also really cared about it. The pieces that I care about, I really get into the nitty-gritty of them. Of course, I worked with the actors for the recording of everything, which is relatively simple. At the end of the day, there’s seven episodes and they aren’t long. So we recorded everybody doing everything at once, and it wasn’t that much time.
