James Gunn and Peter Safran are in charge of creating a new DC Cinematic Universe. The real test will be the new movie Superman, which is flying into theaters on July 11, 2025. But the first "official" entry in this new universe is Creature Commandos, an animated series that's currently in the middle of airing its first season on Max.
The show very much feels like an animated version of The Suicide Squad, which Gunn also directed: a bunch of a super-powered misfits are captured by the government and then sent out on dangerous, under-the-radar missions. In this case, the gimmick is that they're all monsters. I wasn't giving Creature Commandos much thought, but I checked it out when I saw that episodes were starting to roll out on Max, and liked it enough to keep watching. And then came the most recent episode, "Chasing Squirrels," which dove into the backstory of the Weasel, a nonverbal giant rodent creature played by James Gunn's brother Sean. I did not expect this episode to bring me to the edge of tears, but it did. If you watched, you know why.
So I'm happy to hear that Creature Commandos will be back for another season, as Gunn revealed today on social media:
You wanted monsters? Well, you’re getting even more. We’re coming back for season two!
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 23, 2024
But don’t worry, we’ve still got plenty left this season for you. Catch new episodes of #CreatureCommandos every Thursday, with the season one finale dropping January 9 exclusively on… pic.twitter.com/74JeDzscRa
Gunn has a history of coming up from behind. His biggest claim to fame thus far is the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, which revolve around a then-to-fore largely unknown team of Marvel superheroes. Now the Guardians are a cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Gunn clearly has a fondness for stories about misfits and outcasts, and I can't deny that he's really good at bringing those stories to life. Beyond Guardians, also see his show Peacemaker, about a vigilante who's undoubtedly dangerous, but seen through Gunn's eyes, you can't help but kind of sympathize with the big doofus. Creature Commandos is another notch in this belt.
That's both good and bad news for the upcoming Superman movie. Superman is an outsider — he's literally from another planet — but he's also a man of the people. Will Gunn's style translate to this kind of story? If nothing else, he'll bring a different angle to it. It feels like people have responded very well to the new trailer; I was sold the second a little dog in a cape came up and dragged Superman through the snow.
Gunn seems to stick to his instincts, and so far it seems to be working for him. He's even willing to wade into fan debates online, which can be very dicey even if you have a great reputation among netizens. Here he is responding to a plea from one fan asking that future episodes of Creature Commandos be dropped all at once, rather than one per week:
Because it affords a quality show an opportunity to be discussed and grow from week to week. CC has gotten more popular from episode to episode because of the positive discussion around it and has cultivated an enthusiastic audience. If we had dropped all the episodes at once who…
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 23, 2024
For the record, I completely agree with Gunn that releasing episodes at a rate of one per week allows interest in a show to grow organically, and am in full support of him continuing to use that model.
Basically, right now, it feels like Gunn is making all the right moves. This new DC Cinematic Universe thing might actually work out.
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