Of Creature commands‘ debuting on Max this week, the revamped cinematic DC Universe is finally here. Granted, things won’t really kick off until next year’s live-action Superman restart. But still, Creature commands is the first official entry in what DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Pete Safran are calling “Chapter One” of the new DCU. So the adult animated series represents a fresh start for the increasingly beleaguered big-screen DC brand… kinda.
If you’ve looked Creature commands‘ two-episode premiere – or paid attention to what Gunn says over the past two years – you know characters, events, and even actors from the now-defunct DC Extended Universe are still very much in the mix. They’re just part of a world where Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller still exists, but Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel does not. Confused? Of course, which is why we’ve put together this handy guide to the reset-but-don’t-reset continuity of DC Studios’ shared universe.
Here’s what you need to know about what’s still canon in the new DCU, what’s not, when Gunn will explain the messy stuff in between, and which DC superhero to blame until he does.
(Ed note: This article contains spoilers for Creature commands episodes 1 and 2.)
Which DC movies and shows are part of the new DCU canon?
Evidently, Superman And Creature commands are both canon in the new DCU. As the first movie and TV show respectively of the Chapter One list, they are the most canon. But what else makes the cut? Unsurprisingly, only Gunn’s own DC efforts are the box office hits of 2021 The suicide squad and its 2022 small-screen spin-off, Peacemaker – certainly still “count” within the new status quo.
This is confirmed from the jump Creature commands season 1, episode 1, “The Collywobbles.” Waller is in the very first scene and references the goings-on in both The suicide squad And Peacemaker season 1 in conversation with Rick Flag Sr. of Frank Grillo — the father of The suicide squad‘s Rick Jr. Grillo has already been locked in to play Rick Sr. to take on again Peacemaker season 2, further cementing the show’s position within the overhauled DCU. Oh, and one of Rick Jr.’s teammates, Weasel, also appears as part of Waller’s newest team of gun-toting misfits (voiced again by Sean Gunn). Another veteran of Gunn’s corner of the DCU, Steve Agee, returns later as Waller’s flunky John Economos. Creature commands season 1.
So basically, Gunn’s approach to the pre-existing canon at the start of DCU Chapter One is simple: everything explicitly depicted or referenced on screen in the future is back in play; everything else is not. He said this recently in an interview. “In Creature commandsyou hear them talking about things that happened in Suicide squad or PeacemakerGunn said IGN in November 2024. “Well, those things automatically become canon.”
This is an important distinction, as it’s the only thing keeping the wider pool of older shared universe content from flooding into DCU Chapter One. For example, Waller is in the original Suicide squad film and short cameos Black Adam; Meanwhile, Economos gets a few minutes of screen time Shazam! Anger of the gods. This technically puts them in the running for canonical status. But neither film gets a shoutout at any point Creature commands‘ initially run in seven episodes, so they exist outside of the new DCU.
Wait, what about the Justice League’s cameo in Peacemaker season 1?
Yes, that’s a tough one. The memorable moment inside Peacemaker The Season 1 finale, in which several members of the DCEU-era Justice League – most notably Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ezra Miller’s Flash – arrive too late to save the day, doesn’t really fit with Gunn’s grand vision for DCU Chapter One. After all, it effectively echoes the League’s previous standalone and team-adventure canon, while Gunn sets out to do the opposite.
More importantly, it unnecessarily complicates the onboarding of new superman David Corenswet. Without going too deep into spoilers, an upcoming one Creature commands The episode leaves viewers in no doubt that Corenswet, not Cavill, is the Superman who would have berated John Cena’s Peacemaker for his tardiness in the finale. But that would mean that Corenswet’s Last Son of Krypton coexists with Momoa Aquaman and the Miller Flash… somehow. And that likes Man of steel And Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice are still canon, only now that Corenswet retroactively takes Cavill’s place. Right?
Wrong. According to Gunn’s IGN interview: PeacemakerThe new DCU’s Justice League scene is the new DCU’s first major continuity inconsistency shall explained further down the line. “The truth is almost everything Peacemaker is canon with the exception of (the) Justice League (scene)… which we’ll get to in the next season PeacemakerGunn promised.
Now do you need an explanation for the new DCU’s canon inconsistencies? Just blame the flash
So any wrinkles in the DCU’s composite canon will be ironed out Peacemaker season 2 comes out in August 2025. That’s not far off – unless you’re (like most genre heads) a continuity obsessive. Luckily, there’s a workaround you can use until then: just blame the Flash. While the Scarlet Speedster’s self-titled solo outing in 2023 did not rather hit the reset button on the DCEU as many people expected did make the knowledge of the franchise a lot less solid than before.
Not alone The flash introduces the multiverse mechanic to the DCEU, but it also established that tinkering with the timeline – and Barry Allen is doing plenty of that – could have wildly unpredictable domino effects. It’s how Ben Affleck’s Batman is being supplanted by the Michael Keaton and George Clooney versions over time The flash‘s term.
What does this all mean for James Gunn’s DCU? Well, maybe Creature commands and its ilk take place on one of The flash‘s infinite alternate Earths, a world identical to the DCEU in many ways and very different in others (such as the appearance and history of its Superman)? Or perhaps it’s the product of additional off-screen time travel scandals from Barry after…The flash? In this scenario, Barry unknowingly rewrote the entire history of the DCU, except… The suicide squad and (most) Peacemaker season 1, presumably while trying to undo some of the unexpected changes he brought about The flash‘s climax (i.e. the cloneification of Bruce Wayne). It’s messy, but it works – much like DCU 2.0 itself.