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Since the moment Nick Fury appeared at the end of 2008’s Iron Man, modern superhero movies have been defined by post-credit scenes. Sure, a movie may be good, but what is it teasing next? Henry Cavill as Superman? Thanos? Harry Styles? Post-credit scenes have been Marvel Studios’s bread and butter for almost two decades, and while DC has previously dabbled in them, the upcoming DC Universe may not be so beholden.
Speaking to a group of press last week, DC Studios presidents James Gunn and Peter Safran discussed their ideology when it came to teasing the future and it’s not one defined by the notion. “We know where we’re headed to with the larger story,” Safran said. “So James makes sure that those building blocks are going to be put in place. And then around that, there’s a tremendous amount of latitude in terms of what we do.”
Basically, unless it’s something they are 100% sure is going to happen, you won’t see a tease for it, either in a movie or after the credits. For an example of why that is, Gunn took from personal experience at Marvel.
“[Post-credits scenes] can be a real nightmare,” he said. “Like writing Guardians 3 and I wasn’t really sure if Adam Warlock should be in it. But I fucking promised people. You know what I mean? And I’m like, ‘Oh, well, now I’m writing the script and things change.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m kind of cramming him in there.’ And I like him in the movie. I like the character. But it made it a little less elegant in some ways, the film. And so I’m really careful about those sorts of promises that we don’t know that we can deliver.” Gunn specifically emphasized the “don’t know.”
This is speculative but here’s how we see this. Superman is coming out. That’s a fact. And, as Gunn is finishing editing on that, Supergirl is in production as is Lanterns. Those are 100% happening. That makes either a potential candidate for a tease in Superman, as opposed to something like The Authority or Booster Gold which haven’t quite been solidified yet.
In fact, there’s already an example of this in the DCU. Batman appearing in Creature Commandos is exactly this. They don’t know who is playing Batman yet, nor what the specific story of his film will be, but they know they are going to make a Batman film. Batman is out there. So that’s why that got a tease.
For more from Gunn and Safran on the future of DC Studios, head to our full report.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
