According to the official DC Instagram account, to “celebrate 1 year of DCU peak” all seven episodes of Creature Commandos will be free on YouTube for a limited time. Rather than individual uploads, the series first aired as a livestream available on December 22nd, from 1 PM to 7 PM. It will air again on Tuesday, December 23rd, from 3 PM to 9 PM.
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The adult animated series was the official launch of James Gunn’s DC reboot, releasing six months before Superman landed in theaters. However, according to Cosmic Book News, “it never made the Nielsen charts.” Like the super-villain team itself, only the most hardcore DC fans may have even been aware of Creature Commandos.
James Gunn sits for an interview – YouTube, GQ
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Despite this, the show was renewed for a second season. Rather than celebrating an event, Warner Bros. is likely trying to manufacture some interest for an overlooked property. It’s not dissimilar to the Oscars’ 2029 strategy — put it on YouTube, the most popular streaming platform in the world, for free.
Leaning on YouTube instead of HBO Max is something Warner Bros. has tried before.
Warner Bros.’ YouTube Experiment
Last February, Warner Bros. quietly put over 30 films on its official YouTube channel. The playlist, which has since been deleted, was primarily made up of relatively unpopular movies from ’80s-’00s that were not on HBO Max. This may have been an attempt meet users where they were at, while at the same time generating some ad revenue.
Apparently, Warner Bros. decided to pull the plug on the experiment. However, with Creature Commandos streaming live on YouTube for a limited time, it’s creating something closer to an event for those who are not currently signed up for HBO Max.
The official logo for HBO Max – Warner Bros. Discovery
Many DC animated films not connected to the DCU, like Superman: Doomsday (2007), Batman: Year One (2011), and DC: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2020), are available with ads in the Movies & TV section of YouTube. View counts for the videos are unavailable, but Superman: Doomsday has 27k upvotes, suggesting that there is an audience.
Faithful adaptations of popular comic runs from flagship characters is one thing. It remains to be seen if Creature Commandos, which is in the trademark style of Gunn, will appeal to the same YouTube viewers.
The Creature Commandos Audience
Creature Commandos is very much in the Gunn mold with its team of societal outcasts including Frankenstein’s Monster (David Harbour), the Bride (Indira Varma), G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn), Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk). The show is rated TV-MA.
In his review, Blaine Andrews, founder and CEO of Criticless, noted that a mature-rated show about an obscure group was an unexpected choice for the launch of the DCU. But he added that “it’s exactly what we should expect from the guy that gave us the Guardians of the Galaxy.” The show has 50% Decent score on the platform with 32 voters.
Superman grimacing by a Stagg Industries sign in the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman – YouTube, DC
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With the increased availability of Creature Commandos on YouTube this weekend, the score may change. But after the weak box office performance of Superman, and the strong dislike for the first Supergirl trailer, Warner Bros. may be trying to squeeze as much revenue out of the DCU as it can, while building awareness of its multifaceted universe.
Will you be watching Creature Commandos on YouTube? Are you done with James Gunn? Let us know in the comments!
