James Gunn Had One Condition for Batman’s Creature Commandos Cameo (And It’s a Big One)

There’s no word on when the new DC Universe from DC Studios will officially debut its take on Batman, but the franchise offered a big tease about the Caped Crusader in the penultimate episode of Creature Commandos. In a flashback scene depicting Doctor Phosphorus’ origin story, the villain-turned-Commando gets caught by none other than Batman himself, and fans got a glimpse of the hero as he arrived to apprehend the perpetrator.

The thing about this Batman “cameo” in Creature Commandos is that he was entirely in the shadows. It’s clear who the character is, but there aren’t any real visible details. In fact, that lack of detail was the one big requirement from series creator (and DC Studios co-chair) James Gunn.

“When they first gave [the episode] to me, we saw a lot more Batman,” Gunn told Rotten Tomatoes. “I would say, ‘I’m not ready to commit to that, I’m not ready to commit to that, I’m not ready to commit to that.’ So I was like, ‘More silhouette!’ It’s a great way to show that Batman does exist.”

Gunn went on to say that the point of the cameo wasn’t to show how Batman looks in the DCU, which would have required them to make a bunch of choices about the character’s suit and appearance that they just aren’t ready to make yet. Instead, the point of having him there was just to show that he’s already an important part of the universe we’re watching unfold.

“I think it’s a great way to show Batman does exist, he already exists in this universe, just like when we come to the Superman movie and we see Superman already exists and is already known by the people of Metropolis,” Gunn explained. “We don’t need to hear the origin story again.”

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“That’s just a way to introduce that Batman is a part of this universe, he’s an important part of this universe, and he has an impact on it. Including defeating such pretty dangerous, scary people like Doctor Phosphorus, who’s pretty tough.”

The important thing to note here is that Batman is a part of this story already. So whenever we pick up with Bruce Wayne in The Brave and the Bold, he will have been operating as Batman for some time. It’s a similar approach to Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s take on the character in The Batman, though the DCU version seems as though he’ll have more experience under the cowl.