Frank Grillo’s 'Commando' Rick Flag Sr. To Make Live-Action Jump In 'Peacemaker' Season 2
It's a medium-size universal traversal as promised in the original plans for the new DC Universe
It’s all starting to come together. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has announced the first step of interconnectivity in the new DC Universe, of course interconnectivity being a crucial part of what makes a cinematic universe. Frank Grillo will reprise his role as Rick Flag Sr., a role he will originate on the upcoming Creature Commandos animated series, on Peacemaker season 2. Both series are Gunn creations.
His announcement came on Threads, reading “Pleased to announce the great frankgrillo1 will be reprising the role of Rick Flag, Sr - the role he’ll first play in animated form in Creature Commandos - throughout Season 2 of Peacemaker. Christopher Smith and Rick Sr. have a little unfinished business to take care of…” This is certainly reasonable, as Smith, who is Peacemaker, killed Flag’s son Rick Jr. at the end of Gunn’s 2021 original foray into DC, The Suicide Squad, from which the Peacemaker spinoff was born. It’s unclear what specific capacity Grillo will play Flag Sr. in this series, but the series regulars this season brings back will be John Cena as Peacemaker, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Steve Agee as John Economos, and Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase aka Vigilante who will appear elsewhere before the new season.
From the very beginning when Gunn unveiled the ten initial projects in the new DC Universe’s first chapter, Gods and Monsters, he said that animation would be just as much a part of the plan as live action television and film, though as of writing, animated film has not had project representation. In addition, playing the roles across both mediums was the default, and that’s being executed here. While Marvel Studios boasted how they got so many of their actors to reprise their roles for What If…? that series wasn’t about introducing characters until Kahhori in season 2, and there’s no definitive indication whether she’ll be jumping to live action. The late Captain Carter of Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a member of the Illuminati but was not the one seen in What If…? that had become a Guardian of the Multiverse, thus wasn’t bringing the exact iteration to life. And it’s very probable that Gunn, who had directed the Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel Studios released from 2014 to 2023, had considered such as he drafted the DC Universe in his co-CEO role. Something to get ahead of and stand out from the rival studio.
Grillo, who also comes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe having been Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones, most recently in four episodes of What If…?, voiced Agent Faraday in the DC “Tomorrowverse” film Justice League: Warworld and became a series regular on the Paramount+ series Tulsa King for its upcoming second season as Bill Bevilaqua, a mobster from Kansas City.
When Creature Commandos soft launches the new DC Universe this fall, it will also star Agee as Economos here as well, with Sean Gunn reprising as Weasel and adding the role of G.I. Robot, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Indira Varma as The Bride, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, Alan Tudyk as Dr. Phosphorus, and David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein. Gunn wrote all eight episodes of Peacemaker’s second season and directed three episodes, including the season premiere. The season was last given a post-Superman premiere window (late 2025) but it’s unclear if it’s among the shifted series Gunn has previously alluded to. He and his fellow co-CEO Peter Safran and Matt Miller serve as executive producers on the series, with Cena as co-executive producer and Stacy Littlejohn as consulting producer. The series is produced by Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and Safran’s The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Source: Variety