The new DCU kicks off next month with James Gunn's Creature Commandos. In an exclusive interview, showrunner Dean Lorey revealed to us four key details about the animated series itself and how it introduces fans to this fresh superhero universe that will expand on screen for (hopefully) many years to come.
The show features a group of incarcerated monsters put together by Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, who had to fill the Suicide Squad-sized hole left in her life, forced to partake in dangerous black ops missions.
Led by Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr., Creature Commandos' squad includes Nina Mazursky, G.I. Robot, Weasel, Doctor Phosphorus, and the Bride. Also appearing in the show are the villainous Circe, Peacemaker John Economos, Eric Frankenstein, and more.
1.) Circe Opens the Door for Magic In the New DCU
"That Opened the Door to That Whole Side of the Superhero World."
- The Direct: "One of the big villains of the story is Circe, which is a massive name in DC Comics. Why did you guys feel that she was a good choice to put in this narrative?"
Dean Lorey: What I love about her is she brings magic. And none of the other characters really do that. I mean, Phosphorus kind of looks a little, you know, magic, but not. But that opened the door to that whole side of the superhero world that we didn't have represented anywhere else. So I particularly liked her for that.
- The Direct: "When I see Circe on screen, I'm obviously thinking, 'All right, so what's up with Wonder Woman?' So when working on her story and putting it on screen, how much of that balance did you guys consider [knowing that] people are going to be asking about Wonder Woman?"
Lorey: We didn't really lean into that very much. I mean, the Themyscira and all that was, you know, obviously referenced, like in the pilot, but we really didn't try to set anything up in particular with Wonder Woman.
2.) The New DCU Is Kicking Off With Violence
"It's Probably Even More Violent Than 'Kiteman' and 'Harley Quinn'..."
- The Direct: "With how it all turned down now that you've seen the whole thing, and it's all ready to go, what are you most proud of?"
Dean Lorey: I think the tone, the look of it. I just feel like I get lost in that world a little bit, you know. And I so for me, it's just, it's soothing to actually just just watch it, the sort of painterly look that we ended up going with.
- The Direct: The show is ultra-violent, which is a lot of fun. How did that differ your experience with those aspects, and really just the show as a whole, from your time on Kite Man or Harley Quinn?
Lorey: Well, it's probably even more violent than 'Kiteman' and 'Harley Quinn,' although they're both very violent. So, I mean, it's not all that different.
But what we did do different was we had some unusual death sequences in it, like where Phosphorus pushes his hands through people, and you see the imprint of his hand coming through and then eyeballs popping towards camera.
We had some stuff like that that we don't typically do on 'Harley.'... We got to play around with some more fun stuff in terms of the kills, particularly with Phosphorus.
3.) Creature Commandos Is Unique from the DCEU's Suicide Squad
"It's Monsters."
- The Direct: "With this concept, one of the first things some people might think is like, 'Oh, it's basically the 'Suicide Squad.' So what was the biggest challenge in establishing 'Creature Commandos,' but making sure it didn't just feel like an alternate 'Suicide Squad'?"
Dean Lorey: I think a lot of it is setting. It takes place in the fictional country of buchalistan. And so we very much tried to embrace that sort of Eastern European vibe. Also, we wanted to be very gothic and very lush, and all of that. So just in terms of setting, I think it feels like its own thing to some extent. And then it's also, it's monsters. That alone sets it apart from 'Suicide Squad.' Also it has a lot of heart.... the drama of it is as important to us as sort of the action of it.
4.) GI Robot Was the Hardest Creature Commando to Get Right
"Sean Gunn's Performance Did a Lot of the Heavy Lifting on That."
The Direct: "Which member of the [Creature Commandos] team was the most difficult to really nail down and get exactly how you guys wanted?"
Dean Lorey: A couple. GI Robot was hard to nail. It doesn't seem like it, because you look at it now, and it just seems like it is what it is, but it was a challenge because he was created in the 40s, so he needed to have a bit of that vibe, but also, he has to be a killing machine.
So, that required its own thing. And he also is one of the sweetest characters in the show, so we had to get a sense of that, so that was tough. Sean Gunn's performance did a lot of the heavy lifting on that, but that was a little tricky,
Lorey then also added how Nina Mazursky was tricky to get right as well:
Lorey: Nina Mazursky, getting her look down was--we spent a lot of time on that. Like, how should that look? Do you see bubbles in her tank? You know, it was just like a lot of that kind of stuff.
Creature Commandos airs its first two episodes of Season 1 on Max on Thursday, December 5.
