Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, dcu, james gunn

James Gunn Addresses Last Week's Rumor Mill (Including Mr. Freeze)

DC Studios co-CEO, writer, and director James Gunn offered a blanet reminder regarding the rumors that were hitting last week.

It looks like folks weren't looking to wait until New York Comic Con 2024 (NYCC 2024) to learn more about what DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran had in store for their New DCU. We've seen (false) rumors of Gunn teaming with Jim Lee on a Superman comic book as a lead-in to the upcoming David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan-starring feature film. We've heard rumblings about casting for HBO's upcoming Green Lantern series, Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Heading into the weekend, new rumblings have Bane and Deathstroke appearing in a film together – and then there was talk of Mr. Freeze film also in development via Matt Reeves (The Batman). Gunn was asked about the Mr. Freeze rumor (not that it couldn't happen in the future, but there's nothing right now, with the writer/director using the opportunity to offer a broader reminder about how folks should approach what they've been hearing and reading. "I haven't heard that one [Mr. Freeze rumor] but there are a lot of rumors out there this week. Some of them are true, some are partially true, and some aren't true at all. If it's fun for you to follow the unknowns, follow them, but don't trust anything completely until you hear it from me or Peter [Safran] (who is not online despite me seeing him tagged in stuff.)"

Here's a look at Gunn's response from earlier regarding everything that's been hitting the rumor mills this week:

Creature Commandos: James Gunn Offers Details

Thanks to a video presentation from James Gunn (who was busy working on Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 at the time) during the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival, we learned much more about what we can expect – and yes, those in attendance got a look at the adult animated series (though not released). The first look involved Waller (Viola Davis), G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn), Nina (Zoe Chao), and the topic of killing Nazis, followed by a fight scene between deep-sleeper Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) and Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk)

"It's a cornerstone of the legacy we've been entrusted to carry at DC Studios and plays an integral role in the vision for our future storytelling," Gunn shared with those in attendance. "Since taking the reins, our true north has been to bring DC film, TV, animation, and gaming into alignment under a single banner and bring a sense of unity and consistency into the DCU as a whole. This frees us to create a range of products that are diverse and compelling and deliver great stand-alone entertainment experiences on every medium while also being part of a larger story that we're telling within our unified DCU."

Gunn continued, "What this means in practical terms is that our characters can move in and out of animation or jump into a game or onto the big screen, but they will remain consistent throughout: same character, same history, same actor." For example, Davis is reprising her live-action role as Amanda Waller for the animated series, and Grillo's animated Rick Flag Sr. will be making the jump into live-action for the second season of Max's Peacemaker. From there, Gunn shared that the series will pick up "directly" from the first season finale of the John Cena-starring series – with Waller finding "her hands tied operationally."

"The new series picks up directly after our 'Peacemaker' season one finale, which leaves Waller with her hands tied operationally, meaning that she's no longer able to get away with putting human lives on the line to carry out her clandestine morally questionable missions. Instead, she recruits a ragtag band of misfits, not unlike the Suicide Squad and Peacemaker," Gunn revealed during the video presentation. That makes our leads a very different kind of hero than what viewers may have been used to in the past – and that's one of the things Gunn loves about the series: they "are actual literal monsters, and I can't wait for you to meet them. Creating this series has been one of the absolute joys of my life."

The role call for the adult animated series (and any potential live-action takes) includes Frank Grillo 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, Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot & Weasel, Steve Agee returning as John Economos, and Anya Chalotra taking on the role of Circe. Kevin Kiner and Clint Mansell (Peacemaker, Doom Patrol) are scoring the animated series,

First introduced by J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick in Weird War Tales #93 (November 1980), the comic book series focused on Frankenstein's monster teaming with a werewolf, a vampire, and a gorgon to fight Nazis in World War II. The series has the distinction of being the first DCU project that Gunn & Safran gave the green light to (with Gunn having penned the series) and the first from DC Studios that will hit screens. In addition, the series is being cast with voice actors who could also play their characters in a live-action project down the road.

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