James Gunn Announces 8 New DC Actors for Rebooted Universe

By Russ Milheim Updated:
DC David Harbour Maria Bakalova Justice League

DC Studio co-lead James Gunn announced eight new cast members for the first project in his DCU reboot.

That project is none other than Creature Commandos, an animated series whose characters will crossover into unspecified live-action adventures in the future.

The first person to get officially cast was Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr. The actor previously teased his involvement with the new DCU, having alluded in two separate Instagram stories.

Now, alongside Grillo, seven other new faces joined the DC Universe,

Creature Commandos Gets Its Cast

With Creature Commandos set to be the first project of the DCU's upcoming reboot, James Gunn confirmed eight new cast members for the series.

Here are the actors who will be voicing their characters in animation and, presumably, bringing them to life in live-action as well:

Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.

Creature Commandos, Rick Flag Sr., Frank Grillo
DC/Frank Grillo

Frank Grillo was the first actor to officially board the DCU, where he'll be embodying Rick Flag Sr.

In the comics, the character has ties to The Suicide Squad, much like his son. Assumedly, in the upcoming animated show and future projects, he'll be leading the Creature Commandos in some fashion.

Hopefully, the actor's new role in the DCU will better match his expectations compared to his time as Crossbones in the MCU.

David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein

Frankenstein, David Harbour
DC/David Harbour

David Harbour only recently joined the MCU as Red Guardian, but the actor is already playing for both teams.

The character's origins in the comics are confusing, but, as his name suggests, he is essentially meant to be a play on Frankenstein himself. So it's easy to see how Harbour would almost certainly enjoy getting a crack at this role.

Indira Varma as the Bride

DC/Indira Varma
DC/Indira Varma

Indira Varma, who was recently seen as Tala Durith in Obi-Wan Kenobi, will bring the Bride to life.

While her existence only began for the sole purpose of being a companion to Frankenstein, the Bride holds different ideas of what she wants to do with her newfound life.

Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorous

DC/Alan Tudyk
DC/Alan Tudyk

While often portrayed as a Batman villain, Dr. Phosphorus will be a key member of the Creature Commandos—and the iconic Alan Tudyk will voice him.

The character is a radioactive supervillain whose body chemistry was fundamentally altered after being exposed to a reactor core. Living up to his new namesake, his body burns like an eternal flame.

Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic

Maria Bakalova
Maria Bakalova

Maria Bakalova made a small splash as Cosmo in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and will be making an even bigger one when Vol. 3 releases in May. Good thing she already has another big role in the books to ride that momentum.

Unlike the rest of the cast, little is known about her character, Princess Ilana Rostovic. However, it seems that Gunn created an entirely original role for the actress.

Sean Gunn as both GI Robot & Weasel

GI Robot, Weseal, Sean Gunn
DC/Sean Gunn

Unsurprisingly, James Gunn gave his brother double duty in the new franchise.

On top of returning as Weasel from The Suicide Squad, he'll also bring GI Robot to life. GI Robot will undoubtedly bring with him lots of comparisons to Doom Patrol's Robotman, but the two are different characters. In Creature Commandos, this bot is one specifically created for strange and deadly missions like those the titular team takes on.

Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky

Zoe Chao, Nina Mazursky
DC/Zoe Chao

Zoe Chao is set to be Nina Mazursky, a scientist for SHADE who actually made the first iteration of the Creature Commandos.

After fixing some of her initial mistakes, she makes a second iteration of the team, resulting in the leading cast of this project. Mazursky included herself in these experiments, turning her into an amphibian woman.

Steve Agee as the returning John Economos

Pecaemaker, Steve Agee
DC

Like Sean Gunn, Steve Agee will return to the DCU in an already-established role.

It's not King Shark—yet. Instead, Agee will be back as agent John Economos. The character was first seen in The Suicide Squad, played a key role in Peacemaker, and then got a nice cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

How Will Creature Commandos Factor Into the New DCU?

Right now, it's hard to understand why Creature Commandos will be the first DCU project out the door, but James Gunn has gotten himself a stacked cast.

With casting complete, the show has already started production.

After the animated series is done, the task will be getting all the actors back for the jump into live-action. As Gunn promised, all the actors brought aboard have plenty of experience on screen, so that transition should be easy.

But what project will it happen for? Swamp Thing seems like the clear frontrunner. However, it has also been confirmed that someone from the odd team of misfits will be showing up in HBO Max's Waller.

Maybe Gunn will somehow even find a way to get the Creature Commandos involved with a big culminating event for the DCU's Chapter 1, perhaps alongside the Justice League themselves.

Creature Commandos is expected to debut at some point in 2024 on Max.

- In This Article: Creature Commandos
Release Date
2024
Platform
Actors
Indira Varma
- About The Author: Russ Milheim
Russ Milheim is the Industry Relations Coordinator at The Direct. On top of utilizing his expertise on the many corners of today’s entertainment to cover the latest news and theories, he establishes and maintains communication and relations between the outlet and the many studio and talent representatives.