Summary
- Post-credit scenes have become an expectation in modern blockbuster movies, including comic book superhero films like Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
- James Gunn and Peter Safran are the new joint CEOs of DC Studios, leading a rebooted franchise that will discard previous storylines.
- The inclusion of certain characters in the post-credits scene of Shazam! Fury of the Gods won’t be explained in Gunn’s new movies, as he didn’t write it and it predates his involvement with DC.
Movie post-credit scenes were once a cinematic rarity, but even then, they usually delivered a tease of something more to come. However, in modern movies, additional scenes have become an expectation of big blockbuster movies – especially when it comes to comic book superhero films. Earlier this year, Shazam! Fury of the Gods provided Zachary Levi with a second outing as his super-powered DC hero, and as expected, the film also came with a post-credits scene that teased more to come in the future.
However, there have been a lot of changes behind the scenes at Warner Bros. that has seen James Gunn and Peter Safran becoming joint CEOs of DC Studios, and crafting a rebooted franchise that will pretty much discard everything that has come before. That hasn’t stopped fans continuing to question whether the post-credits of movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be paid off in the coming years.
In a recent post on Threads, James Gunn responded to the fact that some of his The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker series characters appear in the movie’s final moments to try and recruit Billy Batson as a member of the Justice Society. However, it seems that why Emilia Harcourt and John Economos, played by Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee respectively, were doing this is something that won’t be explained in Gunn’s new movies. He said:
“It wasn’t my call and I didn’t write it – although it came out when I had just started at DC, its inclusion predates me (as does Harcourt as the warden of an underwater prison!) And although I thought it was fun, I have no idea why those characters would be recruiting for the JS.”
Of course, the “underwater prison” referenced by Gunn was seen in the closing moments of Black Adam, but with both movies being considered flops, it is hardly surprising that Gunn wants to distance the new DCU from everything in those stories as much as possible.
Related: Why Was Shazam: Fury of the Gods So Disappointing?
James Gunn Continues to Build a Brand New DCU
At the start of 2023, there was a lot of speculation about how the year would pan out for Warner Bros. DCEU movies, which included The Flash and the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Would Ezra Miller’s solo Flash movie be a franchise reset? Would Aquaman’s movie deliver a smooth transition into the new era of DC movies that will begin with Creature Commandos and Superman: Legacy? It seems that in both cases, the answer is no, as Gunn appears to be sweeping away all previous DC canon and starting from scratch.
This is hardly surprising considering the lack of interest shown in the DC movies of 2023. Whether that waning interest has come from outside circumstances, a general lack of interest in the cinematic experience or even just the knowledge that movies like The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom don’t mean a thing to the future of the franchise, Gunn and Safran will have a task on their hands to revive the fortunes of the comic book saga in the coming years.
Gunn’s new DCU canon will begin with the animated series Creature Commandos sometime in 2024, and that will pave the way for the huge ensemble movie, Superman: Legacy, in which David Corenswet will become the latest actor to portray the Man of Steel on the big screen. Alongside Corenswet will be Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicolas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern and Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl among others.
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