A new adult animated series based in the vast world of DC Comics has earned its premiere date. According to a MAX press release, DC Studios’ Creature Commandos will premiere on Thursday, December 5. The series was announced in 2023 as James Gunn’s (Superman, The Suicide Squad) and Peter Safran’s (Annabelle: Creation, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) first project in the rebooted DC universe.
Creature Commandos follows a mixed-match team of incarcerated monsters organized by Amanda Waller, voiced by Viola Davis (The Help, How to Get Away With Murder) reprising her role. The secret team is assigned missions deemed too dangerous for mere mortals, much like the Suicide Squad. In addition to Davis, the voice cast includes Steve Agee (Peacemaker, Rebirth) as Economos, Maria Bakalova (Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, The Apprentice) as Princess Ilana, Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust, The Witcher) as Circe, Zoe Chao (If You Were the Last, Downhill) as Nina Mazurksy, Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Boss Level) as Rick Flag Sr., Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gilmore Girls) as GI Robot & Weasel, David Harbour (Black Widow, The Thunderbolts) as Frankenstein, Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien, Moana) as Dr. Phosphorus, and Indira Varma (Luther, Game of Thrones) as The Bride.
According to Comicbook, these characters first appeared in Weird War Tales issue #93 as a last resort to eliminate Nazis during WWI. The original crew included monster archetypes like a werewolf, a vampire, and a gorgon. This iteration will have a mix of humans and creatures alike.
The series is written and executive-produced by Gunn. Safran, Dean Lorey (Arrested Development, Harley Quinn), and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, Justice Society: World War II) are executive producers with Rick Morales (Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind, Beware the Batman) as the supervising producer.
Creature Commandos is just one of several new projects in the pipeline for DC as Safran and Gunn were appointed co-directors of the new universe including TV and film productions.
“As we craft the plan for DC Studios, we are thrilled to share with fans the first 10 stories they can expect from the unified DC Universe featuring some of our most well-known characters as well as the next generation of marquee characters,” Safran told Comicbook last year. “Chapter 1 tells cohesive stories that highlight love, compassion, and the innate goodness of the human spirit, all designed to minimize audience confusion and maximize audience engagement across platforms.”
Other projects under the same banner include the Max series Lanterns and new Superman and Supergirl films.