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James Gunn Updates Peacemaker, Waller, Creature Commandos, Lanterns
DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn offered some quick updates on Peacemaker Season 2, Waller, Creature Commandos, and Lanterns/Green Lantern.
We think we can all agree that James Gunn is very busy. When he's not co-running DC Studios with Peter Safran and crafting a New DCU, he's writing & directing the Superman feature film, starting work on the second season of Max's Peacemaker, and making sure that the animated series Creature Commandos makes it to our screens by the end of the year. And yet, he still finds time to drop some updates on what's going on whenever he can on social media. During his latest round on Threads, Gunn talks about Peacemaker, Waller, Creature Commandos, Lanterns (and the scrapped Green Lantern series), and how soon another project is (or projects are) to start production. Here's a look…
First up, with production on the second season of John Cena-starring Peacemaker currently underway, Gunn shared what it was like reuniting with the crew again (and that today was a day off from filming):
When it comes to Christal Henry's (Watchmen) & Jeremy Carver's (Doom Patrol) Waller, Gunn clarified that it's not moving into production yet because "we don't have finished scripts yet":
With the animated series adaptation of writer J. M. DeMatteis & artist Pat Broderick's Creature Commandos set for later this year, Gunn updated that the "animatics and all recording done" and that they're "waiting on the first animated cuts":
In terms of Lanterns, Gunn was back to offering emoji updates on the series – this time, what appears to be three (possibly) disco-dancing emojis – we're going with that being a good sign:
Gunn was also asked about another project that was in play before he took over DC Studios with Safran – the Finn Wittrock & Jeremy Irvine-starring Green Lantern. The original 8-episode series was set to span decades and galaxies- beginning on Earth in 1941 with the very first Green Lantern, secretly gay FBI agent Alan Scott (Irvine), and in 1984, with cocky alpha male Guy Gardner (Wittrock) and half-alien Bree Jarta. Along the way, they would encounter a number of both new and familiar Lanterns: Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Sinestro, and Kilowog were expected to appear. Lee Toland Krieger (Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Superman & Lois) was set to helm the first two episodes. Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and writer & showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith were set to executive produce alongside Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, David Madden, and David Katzenberg– with Elizabeth Hunter and Sara Saedi co-executive producing.
In October 2022, word came down that Grahame-Smith departed the project after having completed scripts for the full, 8-episode season (with Grahame-Smith reportedly choosing to depart after leadership changes at the multimedia company). In addition, the series was refocused on John Stewart and not on Guy Gardner, Alan Scott, or the ensemble of Green Lanter Corps characters as originally envisioned. The decision came not long after the departure of Walter Hamada from the film/television leadership position at Warner Bros. Discovery but was reportedly not connected with Gunn and Safran's arrival.
In the screencap below, shares that he doesn't know much about what went down since "it was before my time" but pushes back on the idea that anyone was "done dirty" in the deal – noting that "writers, directors, actors have projects fall through every day" and that "it's a part of the job":
Finally, Gunn is asked about future DC Studios projects and how close a production other than Superman and Creature Commandos is to getting underway – giving him the opportunity to "blink twice" to confirm. We think it would be safe to say that the blinking GIF he responded with could be interpreted as a confirmation: