One of the important aspects of James Gunn’s new and improved DCU is that it is looking to encompass the entirety of the DC Universe across multiple mediums. What Gunn aims to do is unite the various media that DC is putting out under one banner, such that any character that appears anywhere will be the same as the one that audiences see somewhere else, with the same actor essaying the role and the same history.
Creature Commandos will be the first look that fans get at James Gunn’s DCU, due to release in December 2024, a full seven months ahead of the franchise’s live-action debut with Gunn’s own Superman. It would seem that Gunn will be bringing over the actors from the voice-acting department to live-action, should these characters need to make an appearance. However, this has already been done by DC, specifically in the Arrowverse.
Vixen debuted in live-action and then received an animated web series of her own
In the Arrow-verse, a slew of shows aired on CW using DC properties like Green Arrow, The Flash, and Black Lightning. As the show moved more towards the science-fiction/fantasy side of the DC Universe, characters like The Flash and Supergirl began fleshing out the universe, which then resulted in yearly crossovers across all shows that were currently running. Among the slew of theories that appeared in the show, was Vixen, a character that would go on receive a show of her own.
However, what was unique about Vixen’s spin-off was that unlike The Flash, who got a live-action series of his own, Vixen appeared in an animated series, one that connected directly with The Flash and Green Arrow, who also made extended appearances in the show, with Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin voicing their respective characters.
James Gunn reaffirmed his vision for the DCU at the Annecy Film Festival
At the Annecy Film Festival, celebrating the animated offerings of the year from a slew of studios. James Gunn reaffirmed the idea that he is out to unite video games, live-action, and animated properties under one banner.
James Gunn talks about the DCU at Annecy Film Festival:
“Our characters can move in and out of animation or jump into a game or onto the big screen, but they will remain consistent throughout: same character, same history, same actor.” pic.twitter.com/ZqgLoONkLf
— DC Film News (@DCFilmNews) June 14, 2024
The director wishes to make the change so that actors from across his DCU lineup are able to jump back and forth between mediums with some sense of continuity. This is essentially taking the model established by the MCU and expanding it to encompass other media as well, which might require a bigger investment into a single version of the IP, but would also have a bigger yield.
Creature Commandos is set to stream on HBO Max in December 2024
