DC Studios Max adult animated showCreature Commandostook fans new and old by surprise.
This interview has been edited for brevity.
Isaiah Colbert, io9: This isnt your first time working on a James Gunn comic book project.
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Your first was in MarvelsGuardians of the Galaxy Vol.
3as the talking space dog, Cosmo.
What drew you to joining another Gunn work?
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Maria Bakalova:Its James.
Im just a huge admirer of everything hes doing.
you might find your chosen family to a degree.
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I want to be seen by somebody.
I want to be understood by someone.
We see that withCreature Commandos.
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We saw that withGuardians of the Galaxy.
Throughout the show, Ilana rubber-bands from being a Disney Princess-jot down figure to a cold and plotting villainess.
How did you balance those two disparate tones between her character?
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Bakalova:Ilana is a character that I havent really played before.
I havent played somebody that is using manipulation to get what they wanted.
To sacrifice their dignity and humanity to achieve a goal of power and control over society.
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Shes a complex woman.
She can be seen as innocent and fragile and someone who really needs protection.
I know that Im capable of dealing with a lot of stuff.
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I dont need a boy.
I want a man.
Its a bit of a glimpse that maybe she is not exactly who they think she is.
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She wants to play with her charm, and she wants to play with her femininity.
She just lets Rick and the creatures believe that they need to protect her.
She has some terrible ideas for the future.
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But yeah, shes an interesting character to play.
If I needed somebody to be there with me, I could have always asked for it.
Its always an open conversation with James and with everybody behind DC.
But what James does pretty well is using humor all the time.
Yeah, its animation for adults, but its done with a lot of humor.
Its not that serious.
And its like, How long is this going to last?
What is even happening?
Its not like a romantic scene.
Its not likePretty Woman.
Theyre not supposed to be doing that, but theyre doingthat.
Rick is fully aware thats not his job there, but hes doing it.
Its been fun to have fun with it becauseCreature Commandosis a great show.
Its a very layered show rich with characters, places, and music.
Its beautifully edited, but its also a lot of fun.
Its not that heavy and pointing a finger [saying] This is wrong and this is right.
Its a fun show.
I didnt need an intimacy coordinator.
I dont know about Frank [Grillo].
Maybeif he needed onehe would have had one, but we just had a lot of fun doing it.
Which member of the Justice League do you think Ilana would have been the most merciless against and why?
This all wasnt helped by Ilana endearing herself to characters like Flag and Weasel.
Was Ilanas affection for them genuine, or was it a facade?
Bakalova:I think its a little bit of a facade.
Maybe with Weasel, [its] not that much of a facade.
But to be completely honest, you just have to play the game.
Its so fake at the end of the day.
She has a bigger mission.
She has domination of the world.
If she has to pretend that she likes them so much, shes gonna like them.
Maybe there is somebody else that she can have fun with.
I dont really buy that she has empathy for them.
Bakalova:Who knows?
Im going to keep this for myself for now, but definitely.
I do want to play a few more comic book roles.
All seven episodes ofCreature Commandosare streaming on Max.
Season two is on the way.
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