James Gunn’s Power Move: Greenlight Creature Commandos to Erase Kill the Justice League’s Fallout

Warner Bros. Games is in a bad place right now, and there is a very specific, very James Gunn-shaped solution staring them in the face: make a Creature Commandos game. The animated series already proved the idea works. The guy who runs DC Studios already believes in it. And honestly, WB needs a win yesterday.

Why Gunn is the only person who can actually pull this off

Timing helps. Gunn’s animated Creature Commandos landed in December 2024 with solid reviews and an audience that showed up, which is not nothing for a team made of literal monsters. He then went all-in and greenlit a second season before scripts were even written. That’s how much he trusts the concept.

He also has the rare power to just say yes. As DC Studios CEO, Gunn can sign off on projects across film, TV, and games. He’s even joked about it (via IGN), and the line is too good not to set apart:

'I just wrote seven episodes of this TV show and was into it. And then I luckily had a really great CEO at DC Studios that was me, and I greenlit my own show.'

It’s funny, sure, but it also underlines the point: if there’s a DC game that should exist right now, it’s one he can personally shepherd from idea to shipping.

Why Creature Commandos makes sense as a game (and why Suicide Squad didn’t)

The short version: Rocksteady built its reputation on tight, single-player stories and then got shoved into launching a live-service looter shooter with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. That mismatch did not end well. A Creature Commandos game wouldn’t have to repeat any of that.

Gunn’s track record is basically 'make weird teams work with character-first storytelling.' Guardians of the Galaxy turned C-listers into box-office anchors. The Suicide Squad rehabilitated a name everyone had written off after the previous attempt. Superman has now launched the DCU theatrically to favorable reviews and a strong box office. Peacemaker turned a loudmouthed brick-wall of a character into someone you actually care about. Whether you love his stuff or not, his projects tend to land with critics and audiences because he leads with people, not monetization schemes.

On the gameplay side, Creature Commandos practically begs for co-op without the live-service baggage: imagine Frankenstein as the tank, G.I. Robot laying down suppressing fire, the Bride flipping through melee chains, and Doctor Phosphorus locking down areas with radioactive hazards. Four distinct playstyles baked into the premise, no endless grind required. And tonally, Gunn’s writing has already shown it can mix nasty humor with real stakes without taking cheap shots at icons. After Kill the Justice League literally killed off Kevin Conroy’s Batman, DC fans would appreciate a game that respects its toys.

The WB Games situation, in plain English

Here’s where the business gets messy. The last year and change has hit WB Games hard, both financially and reputation-wise. Some of this is public, some of it has been reported elsewhere, and some of it is the kind of industry scuttlebutt that makes you blink twice. The picture that emerges is rough:

• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League allegedly lost around $200 million.
• A Wonder Woman game was reportedly canceled after spending four-plus years and over $100 million in development.
• Monolith Productions, the team behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War, was said to have been shuttered.
• Player First Games reportedly closed, with MultiVersus taken offline permanently.
• WB Games San Diego was reportedly eliminated, and an unannounced AAA free-to-play project canceled.
• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions underperformed commercially.
• Rocksteady’s profit reportedly dropped 57% in 2024 to about $2.2 million, with layoffs cutting roughly 17% of staff (via 80 Level).

Even if you stick to what WB has said out loud, they’ve made it clear they’re narrowing focus to the safest pillars: 'Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, Game of Thrones.' That begs the obvious question: what DC game can they actually get out the door soon that isn’t burdened by sky-high expectations or years of baggage?

Low risk, high upside

Creature Commandos is the rare DC property with name recognition and basically no sacred cows. No century of canon to tiptoe around. No impossible 'be Arkham again' comparisons. The show proved the team works. Gunn has the authority to push Go. And in a world where NetherRealm’s Injustice 3 is still years away and Rocksteady’s next thing is a mystery covered in side-eye, this is the DC game that could show up, be fun, and reset the mood.

So what happens next?

If WB Games wants a turnaround story, this is the clearest path: let Gunn do for DC gaming what he’s already done for the movies and TV side. Keep it co-op, keep it character-first, skip the endless grind, and ship something that feels like a win. The idea is right there. Someone just has to push the button.