James Gunn on Frank Grillo’s “complex” role across the DC Universe as Rick Flag Sr.

The first few projects in the new DC Universe already have one common element: Frank Grillo. The actor will debut as Rick Flag Sr. in the animated series Creature Commandos before making the leap to live-action in Superman and the second season of Peacemaker. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, DC Studios co-head James Gunn dropped a few hints on Grillo’s character.

“He is a really cool character that Frank has been molding,” Gunn said. “The character’s also in Superman, and he’s an incredibly important part in Peacemaker. He is one of the primary characters in Peacemaker season 2. So we get to see this character from different angles, and he is not simple.“

Gunn continued, “This isn’t just a good guy, not at all. We see all different sides of his character. He is morally a complex human being. Grillo is somebody who I’ve known for a little while, and I’ve wanted to work with him for a long time. He was one of the first people that I talked to when I took over the studio, like ‘we’re going to find something cool for you,’ and now he is everywhere.“

One of the big features of the new DC Universe is that all characters will be played by the same actor across all mediums, as we see with Frank Grillo. “The actors have to be able to work within different genres, and that’s something Frank’s really been good at,” Gunn said. “He’s been really good at the comedy of Creature Commandos and also really good at the drama of Peacemaker and Superman.“

In addition to Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Creature Commandos features the voices of David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, Indira Varma as The Bride, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Steve Agee as John Economos, and Sean Gunn as Weasel. The series 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. Creature Commandos will debut on December 5th on Max, with Superman hitting theaters on July 11, 2025, and Peacemaker season 2 dropping on Max in 2025.