Creature Commandos is James Gunn‘s official launching point for the DCU. Sure, Peacemaker has mostly been grandfathered in as well, but Creature Commandos is where sh*t gets real. Additionally, it’s important to note that while Gunn did helm The Suicide Squad, that movie is not DCU canon, nor is that film’s version of Harley Quinn (at least, that’s how it is at this time, but Gunn could change his mind). Further (this is complicated, I know), the Harley Quinn TV series that lives on Max (and debuted on the now-defunct DC Universe streaming service) is not part of the DCU, but its spirit and tone are similar to what will soon materialize onscreen in Creature Commandos.
Got it? Good. Let’s dig into what to expect from this Max series.
Plot
As the Creature Commandos logline notes, “CREATURE COMMANDOS tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails… they’re your last, worst option.” James Gunn serves as showrunner and penned the scripts, and he has recruited multiple Batman enemies for this team including Dr. Phosphorous (whose irradiated skeleton can be seen below) and Frankenstein. Other members include The Bride, Nina Mazursky, and GI Robot.
Shown above with Frankenstein, Rick Flag Sr. is leading the present-day Task Force M. Of course, The Suicide Squad viewers will remember Rick Flag Jr. (as stoically portrayed by Joel Kinnaman), who led the motley crew known as Task Force X, which has been shut down as a very bad look. Amanda Waller has now resorted to monsters to build her latest Dirty Dozen of sorts.
Key to this series, of course, is Rick Flag Sr.’s leadership, and he will be portrayed by Frank Grillo, who is finally having a comic book-adaptation moment that will last. Remember how the MCU blew up his Brock Rumlow/Crossbones character at the beginning of Captain America: Civil War? Well, that’s not happening here. Rick Sr. is not only leading Creature Commandos but will appear in live-action form in both Peacemaker‘s second season and Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie starring David Corenswet.
When quizzed by Collider, Grillo did not back away from suggestions that Rick Sr. could be the sort-of Nick Fury of the DCU:
“I get a little bit of a Sam Jackson vibe. It’s that kind of thing where he can swing through for a little bit, like in Superman, and have a critical, pivotal role, and then a bigger role, certainly, in Peacemaker, a very crucial role, and then is the leader of the team on Creature Commandos. So, yeah, I don’t know what the future holds, but I think Rick Flag is kind of the head of ARGUS, like the MCU with Jackson. I mean, you never know. It’s kind of endless.”
Grillo has called the show “filthy dirty, violent, and brilliant,” which jibes with Gunn telling Collider that some R-rated movies will happen with the DCU. This rating won’t be gratuitous, however, but “[I]f a story is going to be R-rated, we’re totally okay with that. If it’s going to be PG, PG-13, or G, I don’t care – whatever is worthy of the story, that’s what we’re going to do.” And viewers can expect Creature Commandos to go TV-MA.
Cast
Frank Grillo is anchoring the cast Rick Flag Sr. and is joined by Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, David Harbour as Frankenstein, Alan Tudyk as ^^^ Dr. Phosphorus, Indira Varma as The Bride, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Steve Agee as Economos, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Sean Gunn as GI Robot & Weasel.
Do not forget (or underestimate) Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.
Release Date
The Max series debuts on Thursday, Dec. 5 with one episode for a total of seven through Jan. 16.
Trailer
Now this is an effective trailer. Every main character receives a proper intro with a preview of the humor and action to come.
