Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Streaming

  • Marvel Studios Releases Official Synopses for All Eight Episodes of the Final Season of ‘What If…?’

    Marvel Studios Releases Official Synopses for All Eight Episodes of the Final Season of ‘What If…?’

    The final season of Marvel Animation’s multiversal adventure, What If…?, is almost upon us and Marvel Studios has begun the final marketing push. The studio recently revealed the titles of the final eight episodes of the show, giving away a surprise or two in the process. Now, just four days away from the debut of the first episode, official synopses for each episode have been released by Disney.

    Episode 1: What If…The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?

    Captain America/Sam Wilson must suit up in a colossal mech suit to battle Bruce Banner after an attempt to cure himself of the Hulk goes horribly wrong. Bucky Barnes, Monica Rambeau, Moon Knight, and others must join Sam as his new team of Mech Avengers.

    Episode 2: What If…Agatha Went to Hollywood?

    Howard Stark may have helped the Allies win World War II…but what he really wants to do is direct! On the set of Stark Pictures’ first production, the playboy auteur quickly finds himself enchanted by his bewitching lead actress, Agatha Harkness. Little does she know there will be another superpower co-star on the call sheet…Kingo.

    Episode 3: What If…The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier?

    It is 1991, and the Red Guardian takes it upon himself to join a high-profile mission and prove himself to his Red Room superiors. When his antics interfere with the Winter Soldier’s own mission to kill Howard Stark, the two Soviet supersoldiers must form an alliance to escape the United States.

    Episode 4: What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched?

    Howard the Duck and Darcy Lewis find themselves on an intergalactic pleasure cruise. When dangerous factions from across the galaxy descend to threaten their trip, they must discover their own cosmic powers to withstand the onslaught.

    Episode 5: What If…The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?

    In a Universe where The Eternals never stopped The Emergence, the birth of an incubating Celestial shatters the Earth. Civilization endures on the rocky remnants of our planet, where Quentin Beck leads an authoritarian regime until freedom fighters recruit Riri Williams on a deadly mission to take him down.

    Episode 6: What If…1872?

    In a universe where the heroes of the MCU live in the Old West, Shang-Chi and his pistol-packing partner, Kate Bishop, traverse the frontier, saving the innocent from the evils of The Hood.

    Episode 7: What If…The Watcher Disappeared?

    The Watcher must stand trial for his many interventions.

    Episode 8: What If…What If?

    The end of the beginning… 

    The third and final season of What If…? begins streaming daily episodes on December 22nd.

  • Marvel Television’s ‘Nova’ Adds Veteran Crime Drama Showrunner

    Marvel Television’s ‘Nova’ Adds Veteran Crime Drama Showrunner

    Six years after Kevin Feige claimed that the Human Rocket had “immediate potential” to pop up in the MCU, Marvel Studios finally seems to be ready for Richard Rider to join the fray…a few years from now. First developed as a film with Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada working on the script in 2022, Nova was transitioned to television a year later and put on hold while the studio began restructuring its streaming plans. With a new roadmap in place, things started moving on Nova again earlier this year with an eye on a 2025 start of production. With the new year right around the corner, a new report has revealed that Marvel is indeed ready to launch Nova and has brought a veteran TV writer on board to lead the charge.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Ed Bernero, who has over 25 years of television experience, has agreed to become the showrunner of Marvel Television’s Nova. Bernero, who created the NBC crime drama Third Watch and wrote more than two dozen episodes of Criminal Minds, is also expected to serve as a writer on the streaming project.

    News of Bernero’s deal comes hot on the heels of a report that Nova would introduce the classic Marvel Comics’ villain Annihilus and pit the Bug-Lord against a young team of Nova Corpsmen. Given Bernero‘s background, which also includes Crossing Lines, a crime drama that focuses on an elite team of special investigators, it seems reasonable to assume that while Rider will be the series’ central figure, the other Corps members will feature prominently in the action. With Bernero just now signing on, the studio will begin assembling a writers room and start the casting process.

    As only the third project to feature a true showrunner since the studio’s restructuring, there’s not enough data to accurately predict a timeline of events; however, taking a look at the timeline from Terry Matalas‘ taking over as showrunner of the upcoming Vision series in May 2024 to its expected February 2025 start of production, it’s safe to say cameras won’t roll on Nova until the second half of 2025. With Marvel Studios actively seeking to reduce its streaming output, that likely means the series won’t hit Disney Plus until 2027 and may actually be part of the studio’s post-Multiverse Saga plans.

    Source: The In”Sneider”, Deadline

  • Hogwarts Rip-off Series Reportedly Being Developed at Marvel Studios

    Hogwarts Rip-off Series Reportedly Being Developed at Marvel Studios

    The stan culture that has developed around Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff and the impressive success of Agatha All Along should serve as strong indicators to the Marvel Parliament that there’s an interest in more stories set in the mystical corner of the MCU. Though strong performances by Olsen and Agatha star Kathryn Hahn are huge factors, audiences were just as enchanted by Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone, whose performance earned her a Critics’ Choice Award nomination. In this instance, it’s not just big names but good stories to which fans are responding and it’s clear they want more.

    With that in mind and HBO preparing to bring Harry Potter back to the pop culture forefront with a new streaming series set to debut in 2026, it sounds as though Disney may be preparing to take advantage of the buzz.

    According to a report from MCU insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Television is developing an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Strange Academy for Disney Plus.

    Created by Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos, Marvel Comics Strange Academy debuted in 2020 and focused on a new generation of magic users being trained in the mystic arts at a Hogwarts-esque school opened by Stephen Strange. Classes at Strange Academy were led by an array of Marvel mages including Doctor Voodoo, Wanda Maximoff, Wong, Magik and, yes, Agatha Harkness and covered a range of topics from astral projections to interdimensional geography to xenoanatomy.

    The report calls to mind a nearly two-year old rumor that indicated Marvel Studios was developing the IP with Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez as co-leads. Given the recent restructuring behind the scenes at Marvel Studios, it’s likely that whatever plans may have initially been in place for Strange Academy have changed. Additionally, it’s always worth repeating that Marvel Studios’ Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, has cautioned fans that a project being in development does not mean it will ever be realized on screen.

  • ‘What If ..?’ Season 3 Episode Titles Reveal a Few Big Surprises

    ‘What If ..?’ Season 3 Episode Titles Reveal a Few Big Surprises

    On December 22nd, the third and final season of Marvel Animation’s What If…? will get underway on Disney Plus. As was the case with Season 2, Marvel will debut one new episode a day with the series finale dropping on December 29th. Ahead of the season debuting next week, Marvel Studios has released an episode guide complete with the titles of the final eight episodes. And as you might expect, some are a little unexpected!

    While quite a few of the episodes have been prominently featured in the marketing for the series, quite a bit more can be gleaned about their premises now that titles have been revealed. For example, it’s been known for quite some time that an episode would feature Mech Avengers taking on Kaiju; however, knowing that they will also take on the Hulk certainly spices up the episode a bit.

    Episode 4, “What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched”, will almost certainly be a follow up to Season 1’s “What If…Thor Were an Only Child?” which saw the Master of Quack-Fu fall in love with Darcy Lewis. An absurd idea, to be sure, but you know the old saying: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Byrdie in a baby carriage.

    Though it seems as though 2021’s Eternals may never get a proper theatrical or streaming sequel, Episode 5, “What If…The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?”, will at least acknowledge the project and remind everyone it exists before Tiamut pops back up in Captain America: Brave New World.

    Featured heavily but without context in trailers and promo spots for Season 3 was Episode 6, featuring Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop and Simu Liu‘s Shang-Chi. Inspired, it would seem, by the 2015 Secret Wars title, 1872, “What If…1872?” will explore the Old West similar to the way that Season 2’s “What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?” did with familiar characters in an unusual setting.

    Finally, as has been the case over the first two seasons, it is likely that Episode 7, “What If…The Watcher Disappeared?” will dovetail into Episode 8, “What If…What If?”. And though we’d hesitate to go too far out on a limb, it’s likely that over the course of those two final episodes, Captain Carter’s ongoing What If…? story will be picked back up and taken to its denouement.

    The final eight episodes of What If…? begin on Disney Plus on December 22nd!

  • ‘Creature Commandos’ Episode 3 Teases the DCU’s First Superteam

    ‘Creature Commandos’ Episode 3 Teases the DCU’s First Superteam

    DC Studios’ Creature Commandos opened with two strong, action-packed episodes that introduced Task Force M and an all-new DCU rich with history and the sort of lived-in vibe that allows for other stories to exist in just about any corner. By setting stories in a universe where Eric Frankenstein has been stalking The Bride for a century, James Gunn has provided room for other character’s stories to have existed as well. And in Episode 3, “Cheers to the Tin Man”, Gunn took advantage of another long-lived character’s story to potentially set the stage for the DCU’s first super team.

    Used to convey the history of G.I. Robot, the third episode of Creature Commandos introduced Doctor Will Magnus into the DCU continuity. Twenty years after the end of World War II, G. I. Robot finds himself in the possession of Magnus, a self-described AI specialist who hopes to study the robot in an effort to build the next wave of automatons. As the flashback to this time period comes to a close, Magnus is shown looking at a chalkboard that includes a set of symbols familiar to fans of DC Comics: the Metal Men.

    Created in 1962 by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru, DC’s Metal Men first appeared in 1962’s Showcase #37 and have evolved and survived throughout all the publishing houses new initiatives. Named after the metals from which they were built, Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum, and Tin also embodied the properties of the elements from which they were created. The team has served as heroes since the Silver Age of DC Comics and now can exist as such in the all-new DC Universe.

    Though there’s been no indication from DC Studios’ co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran that a Metal Men project is in the works, one doesn’t necessarily have to be in order for the team to play a role in the DCU. While there’s no need for Magnus to have survived into the present day, his automatons could have and could show up in any number of upcoming projects.

    As set photos from Superman have established, the DCU is already full of heroes who h whom the public is familiar. In a world where Hawkgirl, Metamorpho and a Guy Gardner are already active, it wouldn’t be shocking to learn that in-universe inhabitants are already familiar with the Metal Men. Of course, given their own rich comic book history, should someone present Gunn and Safran with a solid pitch, a Metal Men project could easily be used to flesh out the history of any number of years between the 1960s and 2020s. And therin lies the power of Gunn’s decree to tell stories for the sake of stories rather than for an overarching shared narrative. Given the success of Creature Commandos, an animated Metal Men streaming series would most likely be greeted warmly by fans.

    The first three episodes of Creature Commandos are now streaming on Max.

  • The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘What If…?’ Season 3

    The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘What If…?’ Season 3

    What If…?, Marvel Animation’s first MCU-set adventure, is set to return for its third and final season just in time for folks to be home a bit more for the holidays. As was the case with Season 2, one new episode of What If…? will arrive daily from December 22nd through December 29th.

    Season 2 was a marked improvement over Season 1 in part because it expanded beyond the slightly altered retelling of familiar origin stories to take advantage of the true nature of the What If…? premise. Season 3 looks to be headed in that direction as well and will also greatly increase the size of the roster of characters. That said, you’ll likely want to refeesh your memory about some of the stories and characters set to make a splash in the new season. So if you’re looking for something to watch while you wrap your presents and guzzle your egg nog, we present The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Season 3 of What If…?.

    How It Started…

    It’s been quite some time since Season 1 of Loki and most of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga plans have been altered since then; however, without Sylvie knifing He Who Remains, there’s no Multiverse at all. That action went down in Season 1, Episode 6, “For All Time Always”, which is one of the best episodes of TV Marvel Studios has put together.

    How It Went…

    Even though Marvel Animation is adding characters such as Agatha Harkness, Shang-Chi and Moon Knight to the mix in Season 3 you’ll likely want to refresh yourself on some of the series’ central characters. While What If…? is ostensibly Uatu’s show, Captain Carter takes the lead in many episodes across both seasons and will be back for more. Additionally, the MCU original character Kahhori, who debuted in Season 2, is confirmed to return in the new season.

    What If…?, Season 1:

    Episode 1, What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?

    Episode 9, What If…The Watcher Broke His Oath?

    What If…?, Season 2:

    Episode 5, What If…Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?

    Episode 6, What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?

    Episode 8, What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?

    Episode 9, What If…Strange Supreme Intervened?

    Where It’s Going Next

    Not to beat a dead horse here but…the voice cast for Season 3 is MASSIVE. An unbelievable amount of stars are back to lend their voices to the characters they’ve played in Marvel Studios live-action projects. The list of first timers includes Kathryn Hahn, Oscar Isaac, Hailee Steinfeld, Simu Liu, Dominique Thorne, Kumail Nanjiani and more.

    The trick here is that the appearances of each of these characters does not necessarily indicate an alteration of any individual story one of the may have had. For example, Kate Bishop’s appearance in a Western-set episode may not be a result of some small changes to her origin story which means watching Hawkeye may not provide any additional context for her actions in What If…? That’s certainly a change from Seasons 1 and 2 which included quite a few episodes that were just alt takes on familiar stories. All that said, here’s a list of projects that include characters that will appear in Season 3.

    Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

    Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)

    Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

    WandaVision (2021)

    The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021)

    Black Widow (2021)

    Eternals (2021)

    Hawkeye (2021)

    Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

    Moon Knight (2022)

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

    Secret Invasion (2023)

    The Marvels (2023)

    X-Men ’97 (2024)

    Agatha All Along (2024)

    The third and final season of Marvel Animation’s What If…? will debut new episodes daily for eight days beginning on December 22nd.

    About What If…?, Season 3

    Marvel’s animated series What If…? returns in Season 3 for its culminating adventure through the multiverse. Watch as classic characters make unexpected choices that will mutate their worlds into spectacular alternate versions of the MCU. The Watcher (voice of Jeffrey Wright) will guide viewers as the series traverses new genres, bigger spectacles, and incredible new characters.

    The series features an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles. Season 3 features fan-favorite characters like Captain America/Sam Wilson, The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Hulk/Bruce Banner, The Red Guardian, Captain Peggy Carter, Agatha Harkness, Shang-Chi, Storm the Goddess of Thunder, and numerous others.

    Episodes are directed by Bryan Andrews and Stephan Franck and are written by Matthew Chauncey, Ryan Little, and A.C. Bradley. Executive producers are Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Bryan Andrews, with co-executive producer Matthew Chauncey, and producers Danielle Costa, Carrie Wassenaar, and Alex Scharf.

  • Further Evidence Suggests a Second Season of One of Marvel Studios Best Streaming Shows Is On the Way

    Further Evidence Suggests a Second Season of One of Marvel Studios Best Streaming Shows Is On the Way

    Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye provided the first deep dive into the MCU’s corner of street-level crime, introducing fans to Wilson Fisk and his Tracksuit Mafia. Despite his best efforts to not get involved, Clint Barton, the Avenging Archer, ultimately teamed up with Kate Bishop to take down the Tracksuits while Maya Lopez tried to put down the Kingpin. While Maya’s and Fisk’s stories continued in Echo which will lead to Fisk’s next appearance in Daredevil: Born Again, neither of the Hawkeyes have had any further adventures. However, evidence that may soon change is  starting to accumulate.

    Earlier this year, buzz surrounded a rumor that the studio was moving ahead with a second season of Hawkeye that would see the heroes up against the odds while pinned down in a single location. That buzz died down until a recent report by Marvel Studios insider Daniel Richtman indicated that production on Season 2 of the series was set to start in Fall 2025 with an eye on having it ready for streaming as early as 2026. While neither the studio nor trades have addressed the possibility of another season, the recent home media release of Season 1 may have tipped Marvel’s hand.

    While marketing the first season’s physical media release, Marvel Studios is referring to Season 1 as the “complete first season.” While that may seem relatively minor, Disney has marketed other series such as WandaVision and Lucasfilm’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, neither of which are expected to have sophomore seasons, as “The Complete Series “

    While it’s certainly not definitive proof that a Season 2 of Hawkeye will head into production, it does mean the studio hasn’t closed the door on the further adventures of Clint and Kate.

  • ‘Daredevil’ Actor Causes Chaos with ‘Born Again’ Time Jump Reveal

    ‘Daredevil’ Actor Causes Chaos with ‘Born Again’ Time Jump Reveal

    After dodging questions about the canonicity of Marvel Television’s Netflix Defenders-verse series for years, Marvel Studios finally retconned them into the MCU in January 2024. According to Brad Winderbaum, who has served as Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios for over three years and had a lot of time to think about it, the stories told over 13 seasons and 161 episodes on Netflix are “well-integrated” into the MCU’s Sacred Timeline. And so, after initially planning to make Daredevil: Born Again a “whole new deal” with no connection to the Netflix series, Marvel Studios switched gears. The abrupt change of plan allowed for several actors from Netflix’s Daredevil who were originally not part of the project to be worked into the series once showrunner Dario Scardapane and directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead took over creative duties.

    So, I can say that up until this point, we’ve been a little bit cagey about what’s Sacred Timeline and what’s not. That was born, frankly, out of a period at the studio where we were like “we have to stick the landing with Avengers.” It was another part of the company developing the Netflix stuff; we were aware of what they were doing, they were aware of what we were doing, but it was a lot.. it was a lot to balance anyway. But now that some time has passed, now that we actually see how well-integrated the stories are, I personally, Brad Winderbaum, will confidently say that they are part of the Sacred Timeline.

    -Brad Winderbaum, January 2024
    (L-R) Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) in Marvel Television’s DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2024 MARVEL.

    Wilson Bethel was among the key contributors to the Netflix series who was brought back into the fold to reprise his role as Benjamin Pointdexter, aka Bullseye. From the looks of photos from the New York City set of Daredevil: Born Again, the all-new, all-different Bullseye will cause chaos at some point in the first season of the Marvel TV streaming series. Perhaps taking a page from his character, Bethel recently caused quite a stir with comments about the amount of time that will have passed in the MCU between the final season of Daredevil and Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again.

    In an interview with Collider, Bethel discussed the challenges of picking back up with a character five years after last inhabiting him. As he continued on, he also claimed that the same five-year gap will apply to the series, meaning Daredevil: Born Again would begin five years after the conclusion of Season 3 of Daredevil.

    “So there’s kind of like this funny thing stepping back after five years where Born Again will pick up with that amount of time having transpired. The show doesn’t pick up the day after we last saw it. It picks up five years later. And so in theory, these are characters who have all lived five years of life and all of the twists and turns that you take in the meantime. So whether or not even those stories are necessarily on screen, there’s just that little extra bit of life in there, which I think is… as an actor, it gives you an opportunity to bring whatever your own journey has been in that time and they get sort of a little longer in the tooth.”

    -Wilson Bethel

    That claim by Bethel has proven problematic for hardcore fans. Though the events of Netflix’s Daredevil series were not included in the MCU Official Timeline book, the best approximation is that they took place in universe in 2017. A five-year jump forward from then would set Daredevil: Born Again, or at least part of it, in 2022. Setting it in 2022 would mean that part of the series would take place during the Blip, which is a theory that has been discussed before. With Charlie Cox‘s first MCU appearance as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home was set in 2024 and his appearance as Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law was set in 2025, it is possible that the studio set portions of Daredevil: Born Again between 2017 and 2024. However, it’s also clear that part of the new Marvel Television series takes place after the events of Echo which is clearly set after Hawkeye which was set definitively in 2024. Chaos.

    Of course, it’s entirely possible that Bethel misspoke or was mistaken; however, it’s certainly worth considering that Daredevil: Born Again may cover quite a bit of territory and not be set solely in the MCU’s present day. With the March 4, 2025 release date creeping up on us, it won’t be long until we know for sure!

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Skeleton Crew’: D+ Clarifies Confusion Around the New Series Place on the Star Wars Timeline

    ‘Skeleton Crew’: D+ Clarifies Confusion Around the New Series Place on the Star Wars Timeline

    Set on the very Earth-like planet of At Attin, Lucasfilm’s new Disney Plus Star Wars streaming series, Skeleton Crew, oozes with timeless nostslgia and innocence. By creating a show centered on the unexpected adventures of a group of children, Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have provided an opportunity for fans to reconnect with the he franchise through an unjaded perspective and seem to have done just that. However, the wholesome and unfamiliar setting along with some mysterious goings on in the first two episodes have caused some confusion about where in the Star Wars timeline Skeleton Crew takes place.

    As discovered over the first two installments, to the rest of the galaxy, the homeworld of Wim, Fern, KB and Neel is a bit of a myth. Referred to by a Theelin “entertainer” as the “lost planet of eternal treasure, At Attin is a bit of a place out of time that rests behind a barrier to the rest of the galaxy. While that’s certainly a core mystery of Skeleton Crew that will continue to unfold, the series’ place on the timeline is not.

    As seen on Disney Plus, the events of Skeleton Crew take place after Ahsoka and before Star Wars Resistance, setting it firmly in the New Republic era. Though the series hasn’t provided enough clues to pin down an exact spot on the timeline, with Ahsoka taking place in 11 ABY, Skeleton Crew must take place either concurrently with that or shortly thereafter as the New Republic is still functional.

    Of course, Lucasfilm made some effort to circumvent at least some of the confusion ahead of the series by confirming the New Republic era setting; however, the D+ timeline does provide a little more information and, perhaps, a clue that could help solve the show’s ongoing mystery. By setting Skeleton Crew chronologically AFTER Ahsoka, it can be assumed that the audience is already familiar with the Star Wars franchise’s extragalactic expansion which played a major role in Ahsoka. Perhaps the reason At Attin seems frozen in time is that it has been hidden in the same way Peridea was revealed to be? Perhaps not! With 6 episodes to go, it’ll likely be some time before audiences learn the true nature of the Skeleton Crew‘s central mystery.

  • REVIEW: ‘Creature Commandos’

    REVIEW: ‘Creature Commandos’

    While it certainly would not be fair to pigeonhole James Gunn, it is reasonable to say the DC Studios’ co-CEO finds comfort in a certain creative wheelhouse. Though the projects that make up his filmography span multiple genres, Gunn has unabashedly declared his love for superheroes and defended the prolific rise of their place in Hollywood’s pecking order against those who disdainfully regard them as unimaginative pop culture sedatives. From Scooby-Doo, to Guardians of the Galaxy to The Suicide Squad, Gunn has demonstrated an adroit understanding of how to curate the interpersonal dynamics of a team of characters in a way that allows for each member to be integral to the team while also having an individual arc.

    Gunn was indubitably firmly within his creative wheelhouse while crafting the DC Studios’ animated streaming series Creature Commandos and the result is a frenzied and brilliant opening act for the all-new DC Universe.

    Before encumbering himself with the unbearable weight of the responsibility of introducing the next iteration of Superman to the world, Gunn chose to dive down a very particular and peculiar rabbit hole with Creature Commandos. Intended as an opportunity “for people to just take a little nibble [of the all-new DCU] and see what it tastes like,” the seven-episode animated series assuredly accomplishes its goal. To introduce a brand new interconnected universe through the lens of monstrous outcasts is quite a bold statement on Gunn‘s part made even more outlandish by delivering it via animation. However, Creature Commandos, scaffolded by Gunn’s credibility in the superhero genre, arouses such powerful feelings of pity and sympathy for the members of Task Force M that despite teasing and referencing the inceptive DCU, fans will find themselves so entirely entranced by its cast of rejects that they’ll almost certainly be asking for more adventures…for the characters that survive.

    Set two years after the events of The Suicide Squad, Creature Commandos leads off DC Studios’ lineup with gratuitous sanguination and fornication while delivering soul-crushing suffering to each member of the team. Led by sublime voice performances by Frank Grillo, Indira Varma, Zoe Chao and Alan Tudyk, the series lands firmly in the Goldilocks zone between obscene and acceptable, quite honestly giving everyone watching it what they want and everyone starring in it what they deserve…almost. There are no innocents, spare one, and somehow Gunn makes these monsters more human than human.

    Screenshot

    Rather than bludgeon the audience with obscenely overt cameos, Easter eggs and other references, Gunn tacitly adopted an almost Tolkien-esque approach to world-building his burgeoning DCU in Creature Commandos. Through the use of Lost-like flashbacks, each commando gets his or her own story, revealing a rich and robust world already fully developed and lived in. Outside of the members of Task Force M, plenty of other characters, such as Pokolistan’s Alexi, might make for interesting main characters in their own stories. References to larger lore are subtly sprinkled into the story, allowing the audience to understand that Batman has been active for at least 15 years, there are some strange goings on in Themyscira and there are plenty of other key locations and characters that could be explored down the road, though those stories could be set in the past, present or future of the DCU.

    While concerns that the series would ultimately be derivative of Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy or The Suicide Squad are understandable and not entirely unfounded, Creature Commandos stands firmly apart from his other works. To boot, Creature Commandos may be Gunn‘s most mature and evolved creation to date; it’s comedic and tragic and bolder than anything Gunn has done. While fans may be holding out hope for the return of Harley Quinn, they may find that Gunn, who has continued to strengthen the female leads in his projects, has crafted his most complete and compelling female yet in The Bride. In fact, the character may be a metaphor for the tumultuous road Gunn‘s career has traveled. If Gunn, as the overseer of the all-new DCU, can continue to curate stories that convey the same passion, maturity and appreciation for the source material as Creature Commandos, the auspicious start that it provides for the DCU will certainly grow into something deserving of the incredible and lasting influence of DC Comics.

    About Creature Commandos

    Creature Commandos, produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation, 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 seven-episode series stars Indira Varma as The Bride, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana, Anya Chalotra as Circe, Sean Gunn as GI Robot & Weasel, David Harbour as Frankenstein and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. 

    Creature Commandos 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.

    The first two episodes of Creature Commandos will debut Max on December 5th with new episodes streaming every Thursday through January 9th.