The Creature Commandos Cast on Which Characters Could Debut in the Live-Action DC Universe Next (Exclusive)

The Creature Commandos cast is getting animated about their live-action futures in the new DC Universe. When DC Studios co-chairs and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran announced their 10-project DCU slate in January 2023, the dynamic duo confirmed that actors cast in the adult animated series Creature Commandos (Dec. 5 on Max) would also play their characters in live-action. That includes Frank Grillo, who is voicing Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos and will then make the jump to live-action in Gunn’s Superman movie and Peacemaker season 2 later in 2025.

“What we’re doing with the DCU is we’re having animation tied directly into live action,” Gunn explained. “Television, movies and games all intertwine within the same universe. We’re going to cast actors that are going to be able to play the characters in [Creature Commandos], as well as in other things, some of which we’ve already cast.”

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Written and executive produced by Gunn, the seven-episode series tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans after the government shuts down Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) Task Force X, a.k.a. the Suicide Squad.

In addition to the humans Rick Flag Sr. (Grillo), Economos (Peacemaker‘s Steve Agee), and Princess Ilana (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s Maria Bakalova), the team of misfit monsters includes Zoe Chao (The Afterparty) as Nina Mazursky, David Harbour (Marvel’s Thunderbolts*) as Frankenstein, Indira Varma (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as The Bride, Alan Tudyk (Moana 2) as Dr. Phosphorus, and Sean Gunn (The Suicide Squad) as Weasel and GI Robot.

Now that Grillo is the first actor confirmed to appear across all three entries in the new interconnected universe — an animated series (Creature Commandos), a feature film (Superman), and a live-action series (Peacemaker 2) — ComicBook asked the cast to name which Creature Commandos characters they want to see realized in live-action.

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“David Harbour, Frankenstein,” Grillo said. “Just because I’m a huge David Harbour fan. They’re all amazing — Alan and Maria, they’re all amazing actors — but there’s something about Harbour in that character and what he’s done with it.”

Harbour, who previously played the half-demon, half-human hero Hellboy in the 2019 reboot, has “an understanding of the gravitas of these kind of characters,” Grillo added. “I’d love to see him play Frankenstein [in live-action]. He makes me laugh so much, and then he breaks your heart. There’s a real soul in Frankenstein, and he’s phenomenal.”

Cast members Chao and Gunn named the Bride, who is recruited to Task Force M — “M” for “monster” — alongside the man-made monster Frankenstein.

“I think that she’s just such a cool character. Indira crushes it. They’re both, Frankenstein too, they’re both [cool characters],” Gunn said. “We already know that we’re going to see Rick Flag. Sr senior in Peacemaker season 2, so it’s really cool.”

With so much Flag Sr. in what Gunn and Safran are calling Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, might Grillo voice his character in a video game? “If they’ll pay me,” Grillo joked. “It’s amazing, because I don’t know how they do it, both James and Peter. But they have a real grasp and understanding about this world they’re creating, whether it’s animation, live-action, they’re involved in every aspect of it. And they have great people around them, and so nothing would surprise me with these guys.”

“It’s been really incredible,” Grillo added of playing the same character in different mediums. “Because of Rick being Rick in each of those things, I’ve kind of carried him through as the same guy in different circumstances. And James has allowed that, and wanted that, and it’s been a gift. Because I get to be a little silly at times and over the top, and then play it as if this is real and this is happening right now. So for me as an actor, I’ve gotten to do a lot in a complex way. It’s been really fun.”

Creature Commandos premieres Dec. 5 on Max, with one episode airing weekly until Jan. 16.