Posted in: DC Universe, Max, streaming, TV | Tagged: creature commandos, dc studios, dcu, james gunn, max, peter safran, tara strong

Creature Commandos Fuels Voice Acting Debate; Tara Strong on VO Policy

With Creature Commandos casting reigniting the debate over DC Studios' voice actors policy, Tara Strong tweeted on celebrities doing VO work.

As part of Warner Bros. Discovery's rollout of its new Max streaming service, DC Studios co-heads James Gunn & Peter Safran confirmed the cast for their upcoming animated series based on writer J. M. DeMatteis & artist Pat Broderick's Creature Commandos. The official role call has Frank Grillo set as Rick Flag Sr., with Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Indira Varma as The Bride, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, and Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot & Weasel, with Steve Agee returning as John Economos. Aside from being an important update, the casting news was also getting attention for an entirely different reason. Because Creature Commandos is the first DCU project under Gunn & Safran's policy that animated series would be specifically voiced by actors who will then play their physical counterparts in any live-action series or film that might come up down the line. And that's left more than a few voice actors out there feeling nervous that more job opportunities will be taken by those without voice acting experience. In addition, they're angry over the disrespect they feel is being thrown at their profession – that so little is thought of the skills that go into quality voice acting that there's a mindset that anyone can do it.

With animation at the top of the list when it came to content that companies such as Warner Bros Discovery and Netflix looked to when they needed to save a few bucks & wrack up some tax write-offs, the post-pandemic pop culture landscape has not been a kind one for the field. And then there's the matter of how many voice actors aren't given the respect they deserve as actors and how a memorable voice (think Kevin Conroy's Batman or John DiMaggio's Bender from Futurama) can be just as much of a draw as having an actor physically appear. So it was surprising when Naughty Dog senior character artist Del Walker had more than a few things to share on the matter. "James Gunn just stated that DC want the film, games, and animation characters to be consistent and played by the same actors. I'll never work on a DC title ever again if that's upheld. You've lost your mind if you think Hollywood can outdo [Tara Strong's] Harley or any VA actor," Walker shared.

And that's a perfect way to bring us up to today, and it's appropriate that our segue was Voice Acting Icon & Hall-of-Famer Tara Strong (if we have to list Strong's resume, you should be ashamed of yourselves). Because while she doesn't mention the animated DC Studios series by name, Strong is clearly referencing the mindset that a celebrity would automatically be a great voice actor. And in case anyone out there is thinking about a Teen Titans feature? Strong's putting the word out there that she would "really hope y'all would have my back" – take a look:

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