James Gunn explains why he’s heavily changing Batman’s DCU introduction

While the first live-action appearances of Batman keep gliding further away, Creature Commandos gave us the Bat’s first official DCU look… in silhouette. James Gunn has finally revealed why.

It’s a frustrating time to be a Bat fan, with The Batman 2 punted all the way to October 2027 and Andy Muschietti’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold indefinitely postponed. Any DC fan can confirm that Batman doesn’t stay down long… in fact, he’s already made his first true appearance in the DCU… technically.

While a deceased Batman appeared in a vision of the future in James Gunn’s Creature Commandos Episode 4, Episode 6 introduces Bruce Wayne’s live, active alter-ego, but in shadowy visage. Gunn explains why in a new interview.

Gunn didn’t want to commit to the Bat-details

In the interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Gunn explains that he wanted to sidestep yet another origin story, positing that Batman exists in the DCU, yet he didn’t want to commit too much to the specifics of how he appears just yet.

“When they first gave it to me, we saw a lot more Batman,” Gunn explains, “And I was saying, ‘I am not ready to commit to that. I’m not read to commit to that. I’m not ready to commit to that.’ So I was just like, ‘More silhouette, more silhouette, more silhouette.’”

The purpose of the brief introduction, he confirms, is “to show that Batman does exist, he already exists in this universe.” Gunn makes a comparison to his approach to the forthcoming Superman film. “Just like when we come to the Superman movie, we see that Superman already exists, he’s already known by the people in Metropolis, we don’t need to hear the origin story again.”

Gunn does reassure fans that, though Batman’s introduction is measured, “He’s an important part of this universe, and he has an impact on it.” In fact, Gunn notes that there are major plans ahead for the bat-themed hero, adding “We’re gonna do great things with him. He’s the most popular superhero in the world and I can’t wait for people to see more of him, along with Superman. And together!”

This is a huge change for the character, as most series he appears in make a point of introducing the character’s backstory and showing his rise as an honorable vigilante. However, after several decades of his story being told in a similar way, it’s easy to see why Gunn decided to take a different route.

The DCU has been making major waves lately, with a wildly popular trailer for Superman and new casting updates for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow including the addition of Lobo.