Before James Gunn’s Superman hits theaters, the official first entry into the all-new cinematic DCU is the upcoming animated Max series Creature Commandos. Based on the horror/World War II combat comic that headlined DC Comics’ series Weird War Tales, the series focuses on an elite squad organized by Amanda Waller (once again voiced by Viola Davis).
Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming Creature Commandos series on Max from DC Studios.
Title
The official title for the upcoming Max series is Creature Commandos.
Creature Commandos’ Plot
Similar to DC’s Suicide Squad, Creature Commandos focuses on a black ops team brought together by Amanda Waller, similar to how she assembled super-powered criminals for Task Force X. After Peacemaker’s first season, Amanda Waller realizes she can’t put any more human lives danger, or risk losing everything.
So instead of using human prisoners, she drafts several non-human monsters instead. This new squad is called Task Force M, with the M standing for monster. The shapeshifting Batman rogue Clayface will make his DCU debut in this series as well. That makes him the first official Batman character cast in the DCU.
Creature Commandos is based on a fairly obscure comic book by writer J. M. DeMatteis from the early ’80s. The basic concept for the Creature Commandos was the classic Universal Monsters fighting in World War II as part of the top-secret Project M. The roster was made up of a vampire, a Frankenstein monster, a werewolf, and a gorgon. It was a brief run that ran in Weird War Tales, and decades later, in a mini-series all their own. At New York Comic-Con 2024, actor Alan Tudyk said “You’re going see where everybody came from, their origins and it’s terrifying. It’s dark, humorous, but never goofy.” Like the Suicide Squad, the Creature Commandos work out of Belle Reve prison. The series will dovetail directly into Peacemaker season two.
Behind-the-Scenes
DC Studios co-head James Gunn wrote all seven episodes of the series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn was actually developing the Creature Commandos series before he took charge of DC Studios. Animation studio Bobbypills worked on the series, and Kevin Kiner and Clint Mansell composed the score for Creature Commandos.
Creature Commandos’ Cast
The voice cast features Frank Grillo (Rick Flag Sr.), David Harbour (Eric Frankenstein), Zoë Chao (Nina Mazursky), Steve Agee (John Economos), Indira Varma (The Bride), Maria Bakalova (Princess Ilana), Alan Tudyk (Dr. Phosphorus), Sean Gunn (GI Robot and Weasel), and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. Also part of the cast are former Gunn associates Linda Cardellini and Michael Rooker. Benjamin Byron Davis voices Batman villain and crime boss Rupert Thorne. Anya Chalotra will play the longtime Wonder Woman villain Circe, an ancient mythological witch. Also cast in the show is Peter Serafinowicz, of Shaun of the Dead fame, and the original voice of Darth Maul. Frank Grillo is reprising his role of Rick Flag Sr. for the second season of Peacemaker.
Creature Commandos’ Release Date
Creature Commandos releases on Max on December 5.
