Of all the Hollywood studio’s recent attempts to launch adapted, interconnected universes, DC Studios’ new slate is the only one that begins with an animated series. Specifically, they start with Creature Commandsbased on a DC Comics team so obscure that the Doom Patrol look like A-listers, is out this week from Max.

“It was a passion project for him,” he says Creature Commands Showrunner Dean Lorey (Harley Quinn, Powerless), speaking to Polygon via video. “He loved the characters and just wanted to see it happen. And then at some point he and Peter Safran became the co-heads of DC. So it was a pretty easy task for him (laughs).”

And when Gunn actually became co-head of DC, not much changed, says Lorey Creature Commands. “The great thing about James is that he didn’t have to go through a real development process for this because… he was the process. So the scripts stayed the same; When we got them, they had very, very little rewriting. And I think they are the better ones for it. They come from a very clear and specific perspective, and I think that only helps projects.”

Gunn already had four episodes under his belt when Lorey joined Creature Commandsand finished the last three within a few months. “(James) had a real passion for these characters,” says Lorey, “and he really wanted to tell their stories.” This is reflected in the structure of the series, in which each episode both advances the plot and acts as a character study focuses on one member of the team at a time.

But the Connected Universe had one big influence on the show: the casting. Lorey confirmed to Polygon that the actors were behind it Creature Commands – including Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Alan Tudyk and Indira Varma – were chosen with the possibility of live-action in mind.

“The hope is that these people will play these roles if there is a live-action film. So when it came to casting, it was a little different because you don’t usually really think about that. In Harley QuinnWe didn’t really think about that when we cast people, but we seriously thought about it for this show.”

Is the live-action Creature Commandos coming to a theater near you?

“Look,” Lorey quipped, “I wouldn’t love anything more. I’ll buy a ticket.”

Creature Commands Premiering December 5th on Max with two episodes.