The James Gunn series will be the “first expression” of DCU

Fans of James Gunn may not be surprised by his helming of the upcoming animated series “Creature Commandos,” but if you ask executive producer Dean Lorey, it’s not a bad thing.

“This will be the first expression of James Gunn’s DC Universe. We’re considering that canon, and I think tonally it expresses his perspective on where he wants to take the universe,” Lorey told TheWrap in an interview during the Television Critics Association’s 2024 Summer Tour.

Lorey noted that the series “Max,” which follows government agent Amanda Waller as she builds a black ops team of monsters, is “nothing new.”

“It’s ‘Suicide Squad.’ He made it,” Lorey said. “People won’t be surprised by what it is, but I think they’ll be really encouraged to see how completely it’s going to influence this new version of the DCU, which I’m very excited about.”

As co-creator of the Max original “Harley Quinn” as well as the upcoming spin-off series “Kite Man: Hell Yeah!”, Lorey already has experience creating animated series in the DC Universe. However, “Creature Commandos,” which was written entirely by Gunn, will be the first TV installment of the DCU, Gunn’s soft reboot of the DC Extended Universe. The show is scheduled to premiere on Max in December.

The showrunner also teased to TheWrap that Season 5 of Harley Quinn is in the works. “I came back and directed Season 5. I haven’t had anything to do for the last couple of seasons, but it’s really fun. Now all of those things are very deep in post-production, so I’m pretty much done doing anything there,” Lorey said.

As much as Lorey enjoys his animation projects, he is excited to return to the world of live-action. Lorey was at TCA to promote his upcoming multi-cam comedy Poppa’s House, which stars Damon Wayans Sr. and Damon Wayans Jr. The series is about a happily divorced radio host who continues to care for his adult son. Lorey noted that the project “couldn’t be more different” than animation.

“Animation is like you work on it, turn it in, and then a year later you get color shots. So it’s really, really fun to be in a room with people again. I love all the animated shows and I’ll keep doing them. But I love this,” Lorey said.