That unknown nature really challenges Flag, who still mourns the death of his son Rick Flag Jr. (played by Joel Kinnaman in Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad). “Maybe she just needs Rick’s help, and yet she’s like, ‘I’m bold and I’m feminine and blah, blah, blah,’” jokes Bakalova, undercutting her character’s apparent bravery. “What is it actually?” Bakalova has the freedom to create her character—a privilege that her castmates do not share.
That’s fine for Grillo, who has already portrayed a beloved comic-book character with Brock Rumlow, aka Crossbones, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “I know that no matter what you do, there’s going to be a group of people that disagree with it. My job is to make what’s on the page great and make this guy here [gestures at James Gunn] happy.”
“The scripts were just so good, with so much texture and world-building in them,” agrees Chao, whose character, Nina Mazursky, has appeared in just a handful of comics. “It’s also a relief that I didn’t have to go outside the script to piece together Nina.”
“And if anyone has a problem with it, they can tap me on the shoulder,” offers the muscular Grillo, perhaps unhelpfully. “We’ll have a conversation.”
The DC Weirdo Explosion
The DC Universe certainly hasn’t lacked for conversation ever since Gunn and Safran took over with a pseudo-relaunch. The duo has announced an ambitious slate of projects over the next few years, which run the gamut from the expected big names such as Superman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold to deeper pulls, including a Booster Gold film.
As the man who turned characters like Groot and Rocket Raccoon into household names, James Gunn has already proven his love for crazy comic-book lore. “James always found it hilarious that there was this comic-book character called the Weasel who just looks like a big weasel and doesn’t have any powers,” recalls his brother Sean Gunn. That love shows in Creature Commandos, which features odd, comics-inspired touches such as the Question’s home base, Hub City, the Atomic Knights, and Dr. Will Magnus of the Metal Men.