Skip to main content

James Gunn calls Creature Commandos episode the saddest thing he’s ever written

james gunn calls creature commandos weasel episode saddest thing ever written sits at the bottom of a staircase in
Max

Creature Commandos has been splitting its time as of late between the past and present. Its recent episodes have both propelled the show’s present-day plot forward and also explored the pasts of characters like The Bride (Indira Varma) and G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn), offering new insights into the tragic events that shaped their identities and led them to their current circumstances. Creature Commandos‘ fourth and most recent episode, Chasing Squirrels, does the same for Weasel (also Sean Gunn), revealing the horrifying reasons the character was incorrectly blamed for the deaths of multiple schoolchildren.

The episode refrains from explaining what Weasel is or how the character came to be, but it doesn’t shy away from the gruesome and tragic details of the “crime” that turned him into a full-blown monster in society’s eyes. In an interview with Variety, Creature Commandos creator and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn reflected on the episode, which is emotionally and narratively dark, even by the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 filmmaker’s standards.

Recommended Videos

​“I get really sad talking about it,” Gunn told the outlet. “I remember finishing [writing] it. I was in Colorado with my wife, and I remember I said, ‘I think I just wrote the saddest thing that I’ve ever written in my entire life.’”

Weasel hides in a bush in Creature Commandos.
Max

Creature Commandos viewers are forced to watch in the final third of Chasing Squirrels as Weasel tries and ultimately fails to save the lives of the kids who innocently befriended him earlier in the episode. His failure and his subsequent, undeserved persecution make Weasel the latest misunderstood misfit that Gunn, who harbors a deep love for society’s outcasts, has gone out of his way to spotlight onscreen.

“At the end of the day, [Weasel], in a lot of ways, is the most noble character in the show,” he argues. “This is a pretty innocent creature who is treated like something else because he looks different than other people.” Speaking more with Variety, Gunn went on to tease how Weasel’s past will inform and influence the events of Creature Commandos‘ remaining installments.

“You’ll see everything with his backstory come into play in the later episodes,” the filmmaker promises. “If you talk about the characters existing on some sort of continuum from good to bad, he’s pretty much on the good side.”

New episodes of Creature Commandos premiere on Thursdays on Max.

Alex Welch
Alex is a writer and critic who has been writing about and reviewing movies and TV at Digital Trends since 2022. He was…
Death Valley is one of 3 great Britbox shows you should watch in July 2025
An old man and a young woman look at photos in Death Valley.

If you're tired of American television and the lack of sophistication that stems from many U.S. shows, BritBox might be the answer to your prayers. While it's true that Brits are inherently more sophisticated than their American counterparts, their TV tends to be a bit more refined.

If you have a BritBox subscription but aren't sure exactly what to do with it, we've got you covered. We've pulled together a list of three great shows that are the perfect entry point if you're looking for something great on BritBox:

Read more
Admit it — You still love Stranger Things, and the season 5 teaser trailer is awesome
A group of teens look down as one holds a chainsaw.

It's easy to poke fun at Stranger Things because of how long it's taken to reach the end. When season 5 concludes later this year, the Netflix series will have produced 42 episodes of television in just under 10 years. For comparison, The X-Files released roughly 200 episodes in under nine years. The pandemic and strikes are legitimate reasons for the delays, but the long hiatuses for Stranger Things have been frustrating for fans, to the point where some are questioning if they'll even care about the final season.

After watching the season 5 teaser trailer, all the feelings of resentment have been replaced with excitement. The teaser looks awesome, and I can't wait for the show's final run this fall.

Read more
Inception at 15 — Why the sci-fi thriller is Christopher Nolan’s best film
Bending buildings and the team from Christopher Nolan's film, Inception, in a promotional poster.

On July 16, 2010, writer-director Christopher Nolan released his groundbreaking sci-fi action film, Inception, to theaters around the world. Fresh off the blockbuster success of The Dark Knight, Nolan unleashed the unique story of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he and his team of "extractors" are hired to enter a business heir's (Cillian Murphy) dreams and implant an idea into his subconscious, setting off a high-stakes journey through the dream world.

Inception continues to be one of Nolan's most popular and beloved motion pictures to date. Winning four Academy Awards and receiving nominations for four other Oscars, including the award for Best Picture, this action-packed, mind-bending heist film presented one of the most inventive blockbusters of the 21st century. While Nolan made many other incredible movies throughout his career, specifically Memento, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Oppenheimer, there are many reasons why Inception surpasses them all 15 years after its premiere.

Read more