New DCU Co-CEO James Gunn recently revealed a casting announcement for his upcoming Creature Commandos animated series, and the long-anticipated Peacemaker season 2. We now have confirmation on Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr. in both shows. However, the news continues to make us wonder about some specific elements of the new DC Universe. Read on to find out more…
Please note that the following will contain some spoilers for The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker S1.
Frank Grillo As Rick Flag Sr. In Creature Commandos & Peacemaker S2
Image via DC Comics
Gunn took to Instagram to announce the casting of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr. Grillo is an incredible character actor who also appeared in the MCU as Crossbones. Grillo will play father to Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr., who first appeared in the 2016 Suicide Squad, and then in its own soft reboot in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Kinnaman’s character was famously killed by Peacemaker (John Cena) in Gunn’s own directed The Suicide Squad. An action that was a major plot point in Peacemaker S1, as Gunn transformed Cena’s character from an antagonist in the movie to an anti-hero in his own titular series.
Gunn did confirm that Peacemaker season 2 is in the DCU. In the original announcement, Gunn teases that Flag Sr. Has unfinished business with Cena’s Christopher Smith in season 2. This is clearly an indication that the conflict between Peacemaker and Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. will involve him killing his Flag’s son. Which, actually raises some questions about the DCU timeline.
New DCU Timeline Remains The Most Interesting Of The New Shared Universe
Image via DC Studios.
Earlier during the new DCU announcement that revealed the first few projects in this new universe, I had questions. Specifically about how the ages of Batman and Superman would work in this new movie world. Given that James Gunn’s Superman movie is about a young Supes, while Batman in The Brave And The Bold movie will be the father to a potentially 9 to 13-year-old Damian Wayne. However, with the casting of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., I have even more questions.
So the original Creature Commandos is about a team-up of monsters led by Rick Flag Sr. during WWII taking on various threats during that time. Kind of like a Suicide Squad, but with monsters and during WWII. Coincidentally, the Rick Flag Sr. in the comics did lead a team named Suicide Squadron, which was kind of a proto-Suicide Squad. Despite its WWII origins in the comics, Gunn has confirmed that the animated adaptation of the team in the DCU will be set in the modern day. This means that the show will be set within a few years of both Suicide Squad movies, where Kinnaman played Rick Flag Jr., son of Grillo’s Flag. Given the only 14-year age difference between Kinnaman and Grillo, it raises some questions.
Will Creature Commandos Shift From WWII Era To Modern Day?
Image via Warner Bros.
Given the very close age gap between the two actors, I’m curious to see how they will appear to play father and son in live-action. I’m also wondering if the Creature Commandos will retain their origin of being around from the 1940s into the modern day, which would make Rick Flag Sr. almost 100 years old. Given that this is a comic book world, there could be a lot of fantastical reasons for his long life. But the most likely approach would be to just age up Grillo with prosthetics and makeup, so he looks older than his age, bridging that father-son age gap even more while fudging with the exact year of the Commando’s origin. This would also allow a potentially de-aged Grillo to even play Flag Sr. himself in possible flashbacks.
And while this definitely would be the easiest approach, I am sad that Grillo won’t get to share the screen with Kinnaman as father and son. Although, as comic book movies go, death is seemingly only temporary. Even in the comics, Rick Flag Jr. died, only to come back a whole decade later. So Gunn and his team can easily write Kinnaman back into the role, as having survived Cena’s stabbing, and now has a cybernetic heart. Or something other comic book-centric logic. In any case will have all our answers about how everything in the DCU works with the release of James Gunn’s Superman in 2025.
What do you think about Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr.? Let me know in the comments below. Or reach out to me on X (formerly Twitter) at @theshahshahid to tell me why I’m overthinking the DCU.
