DC Studios' first television series, the animated Creature Commandos show, just got a big update amid delay concerns.
Currently, the entire entertainment industry is going through two historic strikes, both occurring simultaneously, The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA. This means that there can't be any writing for performing for any union-based projects—which is most of them.
This has already led to notable delays, including production stalls for Thunderbolts, Blade, and Deadpool 3. And the slate of upcoming releases is expected to be pushed even further, seeing as no end to the strikes is in sight.
This could include the start of James Gunn's DCU reboot—in theory.
Creature Commandos Is On Track... For Now
In a new social media post on Threads, Creature Commandos writer and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn gave an update on the DCU's first series.
When asked by a fan how long the upcoming animated show is, Gunn elaborated that "Creature Commandos Season 1 is 7 episodes."
Another fan pointed out how Sean Gunn revealed at a previous convention that he didn't have any upcoming projects to act in—seemingly alluding to the fact that the first DC Studios series is finished with its voice recording.
Gunn confirmed, "Yes," voice work is complete. This is a great sign for the project and might signal that it's currently safe from being delayed amid the strikes.
Previously, it's been confirmed that the animated series will be R-Rated, with the filmmaker formerly noting, "The scripts are so good."
The show will take place in the modern day and follow its titular group of monstrous-looking beings as they take on special missions. Past rumors suggested the series will introduce Dinosaur Island, which could be the possible key to the DCU's eventual big Justice League event film.
After all, the cast from Creature Commandos is expected to transition from animation to live-action at some point in the future.
The current names attached to the title are Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, Indira Varma as the Bride, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorous, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Sean Gunn as both GI Robot and Weasel, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Steve Agee as John Economos.
Creature Commandos Might Be Safe, but What About Superman?
With nearly every other big project in the industry facing potential delays, it's nice to hear that Creature Commandos may be safe. But, the project isn't out of the woods yet—frequently, scripts still need to be adjusted and audio re-recorded, which can't currently happen due to the strikes.
Many still think it's quite an odd choice for James Gunn to choose such an unknown IP like Creature Commandos as the first project out of the gate for DCU's Chapter 1.
While the animated series could make it to streaming without any substantial delays, the same cannot be said for other projects.
Superman: Legacy was slated to begin production in early 2024, but that could be pushed if the strikes persist much longer. The timeline for the Waller spin-off series remains unclear, but if it's supposed to release before the Man of Steel's next big-screen adventure, that too could be in danger of a delayed debut.
Creature Commandos is expected to release at some point in 2024.
