Key Takeaways
- James Gunn leads revamped DCU with Creature Commandos as the first entry in Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
- Creature Commandos references events from DCEU, setting up ties to Suicide Squad movies and Peacemaker.
- DCU canon includes references to previous movies, while Gunn suggests future integration in the new era.
James Gunn has the keys to the kingdom, with his revamped DCU rising from the ashes of the DCEU. First on the docket is Creature Commandos, which is supposed to mark the start of the DCU and lead into a much bigger 2025 that includes Peacemaker season 2 and the much-hyped Superman. In the aftermath of two live-action Suicide Squad movies, the DCU is kicking off with an animated outing that focuses on the occult Task Force M.
Although Zack Snyder’s DCEU hoped to create its own expanded universe to rival the MCU, the box office bombing of 2017’s Justice League led to him stepping away and Warner Bros. quickly losing control of the sprawling plot threads. Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as co-chairs and co-CEOs of the new DC Studios, with the pair announcing Creature Commandos as the first entry in “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.”
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Where Does Creature Commandos fit Into DCU canon?
Despite the DCU largely starting from scratch and Creature Commandos being its official debut, it’s not that simple. Creature Commandos has already made several references to events considered part of the DCEU. Instead of Viola Davis playing a new version of Amanda Waller, the adult animation makes it clear this is the same Waller who oversaw Task Force X in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad and Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
In its first two episodes, Creature Commandos not only confirmed when it takes place, but where it takes place in a revamped timeline of canon. The series opening featured Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) being recruited to oversee Task Force M by Amanda Waller. Flag asks how Waller can be assembling another dispensable team after her daughter outed her to the government for using incarcerated human. This is a reference to Amanda’s daughter, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), exposing her involvement in Project Butterfly and Task Force X in the Peacemaker finale.
Creature Commandos also wasted no time making The Suicide Squad canon, which makes sense considering Gunn directed the movie and this is where John Cena’s Peacemaker was introduced. As well as Waller mentioning how the Creature Commandos’ Weasel (Sean Gunn) was one of the few survivors from Project Starfish and the mission to Corto Maltese, she offers Flag Sr. her sympathies following the death of Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman). Creature Commandos also finds itself a solid place in the DCU timeline, with Flag Sr. telling Princess Ilana Rostovic how his son “passed on about two years back.”
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What’s Canon in the DCU?
Even though Gunn billed Creature Commandos as the start of the DCU, there are some frustrations that it effectively started all the way back with David Ayer’s Suicide Squad from 2016. It’s a confusing turn of events considering there’s been no real explanation of how Davis’ Waller still exists from the events of Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad while Henry Cavill’s Superman seemingly doesn’t. There are also questions about the status of Margot Robbie’s fan-favorite Harley Quinn and whether she’ll be back for the DCU.
As Davis also appeared in Black Adam, and Steve Agee’s John Economos (already confirmed for Creature Commandos season 1) appeared in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, are these movies also supposed to be considered canon? That would seemingly bring The Rock’s Black Adam and Cavill’s Superman back into play, but Gunn has offered his own take on what can be considered canon. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the DCU overlord explained:
“The rule is: If we mention [something from the past] in one of the new DCU shows [and movies], then it happened. So that’s the way we’re dealing with it.”
While he hasn’t confirmed how this will be the case, all eyes are on Andy Muschietti’s The Flash as a possible explanation.
Many expected the 2023 movie to end the DCEU as they knew it, but instead, The Flash complicated things by bringing back Ben Affleck’s Batman and Michael Keaton’s version of the Caped Crusader from 1989’s Batman. It then ended with a baffling stinger that teased George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne could be back in action following Batman & Robin. The Flash introduced the multiverse to the DCEU, but it remains to be seen whether this concept will flow through to the DCU. It’s possible that Barry Allen’s timeline tinkering rewrote things so the events of the DCU take place in a reality that’s almost identical to the DCEU.
Gunn has suggested that The Flash could be a way to amalgamate things, and posting on Threads back in September 2023, he gave himself something of a get-out-of-jail-free card when he wrote:
“And, yes, some actors will be playing characters they’ve played in other stories & some plot points might be consistent with plot points from the dozens of films, shows & animated projects that have come from DC in the past. But nothing is canon until CC and Legacy. 🧜♂️”
Like in his interview with THR, the implication is that more events and characters from the DCEU could soon find themselves canon in this new era. Unfortunately for those hoping that their favorite DC Extended Universe actors could reprise their roles for some multiversal madness that would make the Marvel Cinematic Universe jealous, Gunn still sees the DCU as a fresh start. In terms of what’s not canon, he says the Peacemaker season 1 finale appearance of the Justice League isn’t part of the DCU. When pushed on where the new franchise’s Justice League is, Gunn confirmed: “They don’t exist yet.”
At least things are off to a coherent start, with Grillo pitched as a possible DCU version of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury – who held together the early days on the MCU. Recruited for multiple DCU projects, Grillo has said Flag Sr. will be looking for revenge in Peacemaker season 2 and has landed a role in Superman. An upcoming episode of Creature Commandos reportedly leads into this by solidifying David Corenswet’s Clark Kent as the DCU’s Superman, and while there was no question that Cavill is done as the Man of Steel, the DCU continues to tie up a strange limbo of canons by hopefully streamlining things for fans old and new.
