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

James Gunn on DC Studios Projects & Development/Production Difference

James Gunn explained the important key difference between announced DC Studios projects being in development as opposed to be in production.

On Saturday, October 19th, James Gunn, Dean Lorey, Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Zoë Chao, Steve Agee, and Sean Gunn are set to hit the Empire Stage during New York Comic Con 2024 (NYCC 2024) to promote Creature Commandos – and possibly, to tease what's ahead for DC Studios co-CEOs Gunn and Peter Safran's New DCU. It was back in January 2023 when Gunn and Safran began rolling out their vision for "Chapter 1 – Gods and Monsters," which included series such as Lanterns, Booster Gold, and Wonder Woman prequel Paradise Lost, and films such as Superman, The Brave and the Bold, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

With buzz continuing to build around a number of projects, Gunn took to Threads to explain, reaffirm, and update (yup, all three) how things are looking with the DC Studios projects that were announced. Noting the important difference between something being in development as opposed to being in production, Gunn same it clear that while everything that was originally announced was still in development, that doesn't mean that everything that was originally announced is on the way. "Just to clarify, I said everything we originally announced was still in development not that it's still coming. That all depends on the scripts! We'll never put a half-assed script in production just because it was announced," Gunn wrote.

When asked why DC Studios would announce projects if a script wasn't in place yet, Gunn explained that it's a matter of controlling the narrative before the news inevitably goes public. "Because they would all get out there with or without us announcing (as projects since have), so we simply announced the projects we were putting in development," he explained.

DC Studios' Creature Commandos: James Gunn Offers Details

Thanks to a video presentation from Gunn (busy working on Superman and Peacemaker Season 2) during the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival, we learned much more about what we can expect from the DC Studios animated series – 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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