Did the Fury of the Gods unleash a glimpse at the future of the DCU? Last night’s premiere of the Shazam! sequel may have been a soft opening glimpse at some of the future stars of the new DCU – the DC Studios’ shared universe reboot being helmed by co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn. If the rumors are correct, the gala event was attended by two future stars of the DCU and members of the Creature Commandos.
Amongst the assorted ‘Shazamily” members — such as Zachary Levi, Djimon Hounsou, Asher Angel, and Helen Mirren — were red carpet attendees Frank Grillo and Ron Perlman. Perlman has some significant ties to the DC Animated Universe, having voiced Clayface, Orion, and Jax-Ur but that’s not the case with Grillo, a man mostly recognized for his appearances as Crossbones in the MCU. And that has many guessing whether or not his presence confirms the rumor that he’s been tapped to voice the lead in the DCU’s animated Creature Commandos series.
If Perlman is Frankenstein, that is some damn fine casting. So friggin obvious, yet unexpected. Awesome.
— James (@DP_DrkDetective) March 15, 2023
Back in February, Grillo began to drop big hints on social media that he was crossing over into DC territory. And while some had him down to star as Deathstroke, his response to Gunn’s post touting the Commandos has put the safest money on him leading the Commandos as Rick Flag Sr. – the father (or at least ancestor) of Joel Kinnaman’s Task Force X character of the same name. His invite to DC’s penultimate red carpet premiere before The Flash kickstarts the official DCU relaunch is another strong hint that he’ll be leading DC’s monstrous special forces squad.
— 🏳️🌈 Filho do Sol🏜️ ᶜʳᶠ 🚴🏽♂️ (@ofabriciobispo) March 15, 2023
While Perlman hasn’t dropped the same type of social media clues as Grillo in re the DCU, the Sons of Anarchy star has been a fancast favorite to voice Eric Frankenstein, aka Frankenstein’s monster in the show. And while the DCU “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters” offering is the only animated series on the roster so far, CEO Gunn has stated his intention that the actors performing the voice roles also step up into live-action if required. If that is indeed the case, the Hellboy actor certainly has the physicality to play the role.
