DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn is replacing himself for Season 2 of an HBO Max show, and some fans are worried by the switch-up. Despite overseeing the entire DCU, including movies and shows from other talented filmmakers, Gunn has kept a tight grip on the wheel in the franchise's early days. The only projects seemingly being carried into the new continuity from the old DCEU are those created by him - The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.
Even going into the blue brand's first rebooted year, Gunn wrote the scripts and maintained some directorial duties for all three projects being released, including Superman, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker Season 2. Next year, fans will see the first DCU tales not written by Gunn when Supergirl and Clayface descend into theaters and Lanterns premieres on HBO Max.
James Gunn recently took to Threads to confirm he is "not writing Creature Commandos Season 2" after penning all seven episodes of the freshman run. This certainly isn't a shocker given Gunn's busy life as DC Studios co-CEO, but might raise alarm bells for Season 2's chances of living up to the original.
Although the DCU boss never revealed who would be filling in for him on the upcoming Season 2, he added that a writers' room has been formed.
As DC Studios co-CEO, Gunn will continue to be involved in Creature Commandos as executive producer and ought to keep a close eye on the scripts handed in by the writers' room, presumably led by showrunner Dean Lorey.
His step back from the HBO Max series comes as no surprise after he explained the stress of helming back-to-back-to-back superhero projects at the DCU's inception and confirmed he would "never do it again."
Furthermore, Gunn is currently writing something of a Superman follow-up while Creature Commandos Season 2 is officially "on a fast track." That alone made it clear there would be no waiting around for the DCU boss to have free time to write a whole new season, as that could take years.
It's unclear when Creature Commandos is expected to return for new episodes on HBO Max, but Lorey promised earlier this year that they are "actively working on breaking the season" before pushing forward in development. Depending on how this writers' room progresses, Season 2 could premiere in 2026.
Why I'm Worried About Creature Commandos Season 2
When Creature Commandos was renewed for Season 2, HBO Max exec Amy Gravitt bigged up the writer's role in making it a success (via Deadline), noting, "only James Gunn could have conjured this wild band of misfit monsters:"
“Only James Gunn could have conjured this wild band of misfit monsters who tug at your heart and force you to root passionately for them. We couldn’t be more delighted to continue their stories with James, Dean Lorey, Peter Safran and our fantastic partners at DC Studios and Warner Bros Animation.”
The superhero veteran has a knack for crafting teams of morally ambiguous misfits, which undoubtedly helped Creature Commandos become such a glowing success, landing at a 95% critic and 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now that Gunn has taken a slight step back from the adult animation, the shift in writing style and humor could leave Season 2 simply feeling not quite the same.
That said, Gunn has kept a tight grip on his DCU in its early days, writing its first three projects. It may be for the best to see new writers tackling these characters to avoid burnout on Gunn's trademark style from overexposure in recent years.
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