DC Studios' Creature Commandos marks the exciting debut of the highly anticipated DC Universe. Announced by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn during the DCU's initial reveal in January 2023, the series is both written and created by Gunn himself.
Creature Commandos is set to release on Max this December, which is a perfect lead-in to 2025, a very important year for DC Studios as it brings us the DCU’s first feature film, Superman and likely season 2 of Peacemaker.
Following a trailer at SDCC 2024, DC released the following synopsis for the series:
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.
THE CAST OF CREATURE COMMANDOS
Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.
Rick Flag Sr. is the leader of Task Force M aka the Creature Commandos. Flag is also the father of the deceased Rick Flag, former leader of Task Force X aka the Suicide Squad. Although he’s assigned to lead the Creature Commandos by Amanda Waller, how their relationship came to be is unknown. In the comics, Flag was a WWII fighter pilot who led a team called the Suicide Squadron. Following the war, he was assigned to the first iteration of Task Force X. Flag was created by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell and first debuted in Secret Origins #14 in 1987.
Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot
G.I. Robot is an android designed by the military for the sole purpose of killing Nazis, presumably during WWII. There have been several iterations of G.I. Robot in the comics like Joe, Mac, J.A.K.E. 1, and J.A.K.E. 2, but it’s currently unknown which version of the character will be introduced in the series, but shares several similarities to the J.A.K.E. 2 version. This version of the character was created as a weapon during WWII to fight in the Pacific and later on Dinosaur Island. G.I. Robot was created by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito and debuted in Star Spangled War Stories #101 in 1962.
Sean Gunn as Weasel
Weasel is an anthropomorphic weasel-like creature. Gunn reprises his role from The Suicide Squad and is expected to be portraying a variant of the DCEU iteration for the DCU with likely a similar background. In The Suicide Squad, Weasel was imprisoned for killing 27 children and immediately drowns in the opening of the film to be revealed he survived in the ending. The series will likely pick up where the film left off. In the comics, Weasel is a man in a weasel suit named John Monroe who uses the suit to become a serial killer. Weasel was created by Gerry Conway and Rafael Kayanan and debuted in The Fury of Firestorm #36 in 1985.
Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky
Nina Mazursky is an amphibious fish-woman who was once a scientist. In the New 52 comics, Mazursky was the scientist responsible for creating the Creature Commandos. Following the loss of her daughter and a divorce, she became invested in her research which included experimentation on herself, turning her into an amphibian. She was created by Jeff Lemire and Ibraim Roberson for Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1 in 2011.
David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein
DC’s iteration of Frankenstein shares a similar backstory to Frankenstein’s monster, but has adopted the name of his creator. The comic version of this character first debuted in Detective Comics #135 in 1948, created by Edmond Hamilton and Bob Kane, but was revamped in 2005 by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke, which is the version the character in the series will be adapted from. DC’s Frankenstein is a member of the Creature Commandos, but prefers to work alone, going on fantastical adventures, fighting all sorts of threats.
Indira Varma as the Bride
The Bride is the bride of Frankenstein and along with her husband, a member of the creature commandos. In the comics, Frankenstein and the Bride are divorced with Frankenstein constantly trying to earn back her love. Although depicted with two arms in the series, the comic version of the character is a four-armed monster composed of corpse parts like her husband. The Bride was created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke and debuted in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #3 in 2006.
Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus
Doctor Phosphorus, aka Dr. Alexander Sartorius, is a member of the Commandos who is depicted as a bright green radioactive skeleton. Phosphorus gains his abilities in the comics following a nuclear power plant malfunction off the shore of Gotham City. The accident left him with transparent, radioactive skin that glowed. He was a recurring foe for Batman. Phosphorus was created by Steve Englehart and Walt Simonson and debuted in Detective Comics #469 in 1977.
Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller is the leader of A.R.G.U.S., the organization overseeing the Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos. Following the events of Peacemaker season 1, Waller’s Suicide Squad is exposed by her daughter, Leota Adebayo, leading Task Force X to be shut down. This leaves her with no choice but to reform a new team but with nonhuman prisoners: the Creature Commandos. In the comics, Waller shares many similarities to her DCEU and presumably DCU counterparts as a morally gray government figure. She was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne and debuted in Legends #1 in 1986.
Anya Chalotra as Circe
Circe is a sorceress based on the Greek mythological figure of the same name. Not much is known about this iteration of the character other than she shares a similar design to the Post-Crisis version of the character. In the comics she is primarily an antagonist to Wonder Woman and is most known for inciting the events of War of the Gods as a way to gain the powers of the gods. DC’s iteration of Circe was created by Robert Kanigher and Harry G. Peter and debuted in Wonder Woman #37 in 1949.
Steve Agee as John Economos
John Economos is an A.R.G.U.S. agent and warden of Belle Reve Penitentiary, where inmates that make up the Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos reside. This version of the character will presumably share the same history as the DCEU version, retaining the events of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. In the comics, Economos is portrayed more as Belle Reve’s warden and doesn’t go on field missions with the Suicide Squad. He was created by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell and debuted in Suicide Squad #1 in 1987.
Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic
Ilana Rostovic is an original character created for the series by James Gunn. Although not much is known of the character at the moment, the trailer for the series shows the Creature Commandos being sent to an unknown nation where they battle knights in a castle, presumably belonging to Rostovic. She’s later seen for a split second having a conversation with Flag, giving us a first look at the character.
Creature Commandos premieres in December as the first entry of Chapter One of the DC Universe.
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