DC’s Creature Commandos was cast with a potential live-action film in mind

Of all the recent attempts by Hollywood studios to roll out adaptive, interconnected universes, the new DC Studios slate is the only one to start with an animated series. Specifically, they start with Creature commandsbased on a DC Comics team so obscure it makes the Doom Patrol look like A-listers, comes to Max this week.

“It was a passion project for him,” says Creature commands showrunner Dean Lorey (Harley Quinn, Powerless), talking to Polygon via video. “He loved the characters and he just wanted to see it happen. And somewhere in there, he and Peter Safran became the co-heads of DC. So it was a pretty easy pick-up for him (laughs).”

And once Gunn became co-head of DC, Lorey says, not much changed Creature commands. “The great thing about James is that he didn’t really have to go through a development process because… he was the process. So the scripts remained the same; very little rewriting was done once we got them. And I think it makes them better. They come from a very clear and specific point of view, and I think that only benefits projects.”

Gunn already had four episodes in stock when Lorey arrived Creature commandsand completed the last three within a few months. “(James) had a real passion for these characters,” Lorey says, “and he really wanted to tell their stories.” This is reflected in the structure of the series, where each episode both advances the plot and functions as a character study, focusing on one member of the team at a time.

But the interconnected universe of it all had one major effect on the show: Casting. Lorey confirmed to Polygon that the actors are behind it Creature commands – including Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Alan Tudyk and Indira Varma – were chosen with the possibility of live action in mind.

“The hope is that if there is a live-action movie, these people will play those roles. In terms of casting it was a bit different, because normally you don’t really think about that. In Harley QuinnWe didn’t really think about that when we were casting people, but for this show we did think about it seriously.

The Creature Commandos, in live action, coming to a theater near you?

“Look,” Lorey joked, “I’d like nothing more. I’ll buy a ticket.”

Creature commands premieres on Max on December 5 with two episodes.