[Editor’s note: The following interview was conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike]

The Big Picture

David Harbour discusses his role in the upcoming Creature Commandos series, which is within the new DCU timeline, under James Gunn’s supervision. He plays Eric Frankenstein, the reanimated and enhanced leader of a monster-based heroic squad working with Amanda Waller. Harbour’s experience in the superhero genre, such as playing Red Guardian in Black Widow, gave him insight into the potential challenges of being tied down to one role. However, he found the character of Eric Frankenstein to be rich and exciting, and appreciated the lack of contractual obligation in this new world of comic book franchises. Harbour’s enthusiasm for these creative worlds is evident as he expresses his willingness to commit to the role of Eric Frankenstein, even potentially for eight to ten years, indicating joy and excitement in working with someone as creative as James Gunn.

David Harbour will next be seen on our screens in Gran Turismo, the adaptation of the legendary PlayStation game, which sees a young gamer placed onto the track for real to earn his stripes. But another upcoming project of his which is eagerly anticipated, is Creature Commandos. The series is an animated production from DC, and is set to be the first animated series within the new DCU timeline under the stewardship of James Gunn.

In the animated series, the Creature Commandos team—like a monster-based squad of heroes–will work under the supervision of Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, the coordinator of The Suicide Squad, who also appeared in its spinoff Peacemaker and who will have her own series on Max. Harbour has been cast as Eric Frankenstein. In the context of the Creature Commandos, Frankenstein is not the famous literary character created by Mary Shelley. Instead, he is a unique character with a similar name and concept. In this comic book series, Frankenstein is a reanimated and artificially enhanced soldier. He is the leader of the Creature Commandos and serves as a heroic figure. Gunn has spoken of actors taking on animated voice roles and reprising them in live-action, to ensure consistency across the board. That would mean, should the show be a success, Harbour’s talents would be in demand for more.

Harbour is no stranger to the rigors of working in the comic book/superhero genre. He played Alexei Shostakov/The Red Guardian, the Russian super-soldier counterpart to Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Black Widow as the adoptive father of Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. He will reprise the role alongside Black Widow co-stars Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Olga Kurylenko in Thunderbolts, an ensemble movie from Marvel due for release next year.

Speaking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Harbour—best known for his work as Hopper in Stranger Things, and most recently seen in the holiday action-comedy, Violent Night—opened up on why he had been taken with the idea of jumping on board another comic book franchise, especially given it would overlap with his current work. One would be forgiven for assuming he didn’t want to pin himself down into one genre, but there was more than enough there for him to be curious about learning more.

His experience with Marvel meant he approached the project with eyes wide open, admitting he had spoken freely with Gunn about the prospect of being tied down to the same role for a long period of time, a contractual obligation which—to some actors—almost feels like some sort of imprisonment, preventing them from spreading their creative wings, and being bound to projects that sees them less than enthusiastic during the process, which is obvious to audiences when the finished product is released. Harbour explained:

“Well, I talked to him about that. There also is this feeling of like, “Well, is this the right one?” Or, “What are you getting yourself into? Blah, blah, and this character is so good. I wasn’t really aware of this character in the Creature Commandos thing. I wasn’t even really aware of the Creature Commandos.”

“They Don’t Lock You In Any More”
Image via DC Studios

However, digging into the lore of the story, and his character in particular, left Harbour enraptured and enamoured by the prospect of being able to take this character forward with him over the next decade, should he choose to do so. An added bonus was the lack of contractual obligation he had been so wary of, noting that even Marvel had learned their lesson from tying down stars to multi-picture deals with diminishing returns.

“Then I started reading up on it, and this character is so rich and hilarious and layered that it was exciting. Again, it feels like it’s this new world where they don’t lock you in anymore. I feel like Marvel learned that lesson as well. If you don’t want to do it, I don’t think they’re gonna make you do 20 movies. But I think it’s something where I just love these worlds so much that it’s a joy to do and a joy to work with someone so creative. So, if they want me to do eight to 10 years of this, I feel like I’ll check my schedule, but I’ll try to free up some time.”

Creature Commandos will be released sometime in 2024. Look for more from our interview with David Harbour soon.