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

Jim Lee Shares Official Animation for Gunn & Safran's DC Studios

DC CCO Jim Lee shared a look at the official animation for James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Studios - and it's even better than the new logo.

On Saturday, DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn dropped a teaser trailer for his and Peter Safran's December-debuting adaptation of writer J. M. DeMatteis & artist Pat Broderick's Creature Commandos – and with it came a look at the official DC Studios logo. Gunn would actually appear during DC CCO Jim Lee's panel to unveil the official logo personally – and we're still big fans of it. It harkens back to the early days of DC Comics – a logo that I was used to seeing when I was growing up. In the video intro, Gunn explained how it was a no-brainer for him and Safran to look to the past to best represent the future that their New DCU is looking to bring. But the coolness doesn't end there, because Lee has shared a look at what the official animation for DC Studios looks like – and it's pretty excellent.

"My peak years as a fan and reader of comics was the mid 1980s and DC was going through a powerful transformation—a renaissance powered by such visionary, legendary works such as the Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, and even The Shadow by Howard Chaykin was a stand out. It was a period of time that would forever change the industry as we all looked at the medium and its potential in new and innovative ways," wrote Lee, kicking off a heartfelt caption explaining the meaning and importance of the new logo and studio animation.

Lee continued, "In the minds of many fans (myself included) this logo designed by the preminent designer Milton Glaser (who also designed among his many incredible works of art the iconic "I❤️NY") is THE mark that defined the DC brand.

It's exciting to see Peter Safran and @jamesgunn bring it back and see the classic DC logo on all DC comics going forward, starting this October and on other merch and toys in early 2025! The beautiful motion logo with the iconic, classic take on Superman breaking forth from the chains that bind him is a powerful reminder of DC Comics' role in the history of comic books and the impact of our iconic stories on modern, global pop culture.

Kudos to @garyintheworld and @masseyrafani at DCS/WBD and Peter Girardi aka @badd_arrow and the @warnerbrosanimation team for bringing this logo back to prominence. Like all things, there was a tremendous amount of work to bring this to life and not insignificant tweaks to make this wondrous version work for our current, modern purposes. To October and the future!!! 💙💙💙"

And if that artwork looks familiar and you're a follower of Gunn's on social media, then you know that he included that image from the back cover of Superman #1 (1939) in a gallery of images showing us what was inspiring his feature film:

Here's a look at the video from SDCC 2024 that Gunn shared on social media on Saturday introducing the studio logo:

@officialjamesgunn DC Studios logo reveal at San Diego Comic-con. #DCStudios ♬ original sound – James Gunn

And here's a look back to Gunn posting an official look at the DC Studios logo (yeah, it does look pretty sweet on a t-shirt):

DC Studios' Creature Commandos: James Gunn Offers More 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 – 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.

First introduced 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.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!