The newest extended DC Universe projects, created by James Gunn (The Suicide Squad, Brightburn) and Peter Safran (Aquaman, Flatliners), are all in the works, and fans are eager to see what they will be all about. The first one to be released this month is the new animated Creature Commandos. In recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn shared the news that Frank Grillo (Prison Break, Kingdom) will be returning to the DC Universe as Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos, the Superman movie and the upcoming second season of Peacemaker, with all three appearances meaning something new in the history of his character, Comicbook.com reports.
“He is a really cool character that Frank has been molding,” Gunn explained via Comicbook.com. “The character’s also in Superman, and he’s an incredibly important part in Peacemaker. He is one of the primary characters in Peacemaker season 2. So we get to see this character from different angles, and he is not simple.”
“This isn’t just a good guy, not at all,” Gunn added via Comicbook.com. “We see all different sides of his character. He is morally a complex human being. Grillo is somebody who I’ve known for a little while, and I’ve wanted to work with him for a long time. He was one of the first people that I talked to when I took over the studio, like ‘we’re going to find something cool for you,’ and now he is everywhere.”
“The actors have to be able to work within different genres, and that’s something Frank’s really been good at,” Gunn concluded via Comicbook.com. “He’s been really good at the comedy of Creature Commandos and also really good at the drama of Peacemaker and Superman.”
Creature Commandos focuses on the tracking of a secret team of criminals that the government recruits for special missions that humans can’t do because they are too dangerous for them. Gunn is the main writer and executive producer for the show. Other executive producers alongside Gunn include Dean Lorey (Harley Quinn, Big Shot), Sam Register (DC Showcase: Green Arrow, Justice League vs. Teen Titans) and Safran, with Rick Morales (Beware the Batman, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) being a supervising producer. Creature Commandos is based on characters created by DC and is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios. In an interview with Comicbook, Lorey shared his thoughts on the animated series’ production.
“It was great, and it was really different in the sense that Gunn had written all of the scripts before we started shooting,” Lorey explained via Comicbook.com. “Usually, I’m one of the writers on a show, even if I’m running it. But James had fully written the scripts. They were great scripts. Everybody was really, really excited about them. So the process went into production quicker than normal, because there were scripts that were ready to go. And we were really lucky to get voice cast that [we have]. I think the Harley voice cast is great, and Kite Man, and I think the Creature Commandos voice cast is easily the equal of those. It just was a pure pleasure to be working with James, who had such a very clear vision of what he wanted the show to be. He really knows that world. He knows it backwards and forwards. So just in terms of making the show, it’s been a pleasure, and everybody has been great to work with. I think it’s going to be a significant release. I don’t know if people really know what they’re in for yet, but it’s fantastic. We’re so proud of it.”
Creature Commandos is set to release exclusively on Dec. 5 on Max.