Frank Grillo will have a major role in the DCU.
James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe is laying a lot of groundwork, with movies and television shows on the horizon for the next few years. The first project to be officially released on the new DC Studios slate is the Creature Commandos animated series, and it sounds like we will soon be seeing a lot more of one of the show’s characters. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn confirmed that Frank Grillo is reprising his role of Rick Flag Sr. in live-action in both the Superman movie and the sophomore season of Peacemaker, and that all three appearances will provide a unique snapshot of the character.
“He is a really cool character that Frank has been molding,” Gunn explained. “The character’s also in Superman, and he’s an incredibly important part in Peacemaker. He is one of the primary characters in Peacemaker season 2. So we get to see this character from different angles, and he is not simple.”
“This isn’t just a good guy, not at all,” Gunn continued. “We see all different sides of his character. He is morally a complex human being. Grillo is somebody who I’ve known for a little while, and I’ve wanted to work with him for a long time. He was one of the first people that I talked to when I took over the studio, like ‘we’re going to find something cool for you,’ and now he is everywhere.”
“The actors have to be able to work within different genres, and that’s something Frank’s really been good at,” Gunn added. “He’s been really good at the comedy of Creature Commandos and also really good at the drama of Peacemaker and Superman.”
What Is Creature Commandos About?
Creature Commandos tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails… they’re your last, worst option. The cast of Creature Commandos includes Steve Agee as Economos, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Sean Gunn as GI Robot & Weasel, David Harbour as Frankenstein, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, Indira Varma as The Bride, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. The series is written and executive produced by James Gunn. Based on DC characters and produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation; additional executive producers include Peter Safran, Dean Lorey, and Sam Register; Rick Morales serves as a supervising producer.
“It was great, and it was really different in the sense that James Gunn had written all of the scripts before we started shooting,” Lorey explained to ComicBook in a recent exclusive interview. “Usually, I’m one of the writers on a show, even if I’m running it. But James had fully written the scripts. They were great scripts. Everybody was really, really excited about them. So the process went into production quicker than normal, because there were scripts that were ready to go. And we were really lucky to get voice cast that [we have]. I think the Harley voice cast is great, and Kite Man, and I think the Creature Commandos voice cast is easily the equal of those. It just was a pure pleasure to be working with James, who had such a very clear vision of what he wanted the show to be. He really knows that world. He knows it backwards and forwards. So just in terms of making the show, it’s been a pleasure, and everybody has been great to work with. I think it’s going to be a significant release. I don’t know if people really know what they’re in for yet, but it’s fantastic. We’re so proud of it.”
Creature Commandos will premiere exclusively on Max on Thursday, December 5th.
