News from Clayface's first screenings has confirmed that the upcoming comic book film will follow a trend set by Supergirl in the DCU. The new DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran has released just two feature films to date, Superman and Supergirl, with the upcoming villain origin story, Clayface, set to be the third. Gunn and Safran have been hard at work establishing the DCU as distinct from the MCU and previous DCEU, and that's included one interesting choice that began with Supergirl and is now reportedly being upheld by Clayface.
Reports from Clayface screenings confirm (via @DanielRPK) that the DCU film will not have a post-credits scene. Post-credits teases have become particularly popular in franchise films, particularly Marvel Studios movies, and it's something other comic book movies, including DC Studios', have adopted as well to entice audiences into investing in their cinematic universes.
The DCU has been taking a different approach to post-credits scenes. While Superman included some extra footage after the credits, the scenes were fun bloopers rather than serious teases for a future project. Even on the TV front, Creature Commandos and Peacemaker Season 2 both included mid- or post-credit scenes. Then Supergirl opted not to have a post-credits sequence at all, and this trend will seemingly be continued in DC Studios' next theatrical release, Clayface.
This may come as a disappointment to fans, particularly as many were hoping that Clayface might offer hints about where the DCU is planning to go with its Batman. However, it seems that with their new strategy, Gunn and Safran are choosing not to utilize the post-credits tradition, instead building out their universe and teasing its future projects when and how they see fit.
While it's too early to tell whether this is a tradition the DCU will stick to with each of its theatrical films, the absence of a post-credits scene bucks the trend of comic book movies featuring a post-credits sting, whether a blooper or a proper teaser.
Gunn is familiar with the world of comic book movies, having directed the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel, each of which included a post-credits scene, but in the DCU's case, it doesn't seem to be mandatory for audiences to wait around after the credits roll.
Clayface stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, an actor whose face is scarred in a violent event and who undergoes experimental treatment that turns his flesh into shapeshifting clay. Directed by James Watkins, Clayface releases in theaters on October 23.
Is DC Studios' Post-Credit Tradition the Right Move?
The lack of a post-credit scene may be a surprising move for a comic book universe movie, but it could also end up being a wise decision for DC Studios.
Marvel Studios has long used post-credits scenes to tease upcoming projects, but that tradition has gotten the studio in a bit of hot water with fans in recent years, as many of those scenes have ended up not being delivered on.
Major casting reveals like Harry Styles' involvement in Eternals or Brett Goldstein's Hercules reveal in Thor: Love and Thunder have had no sign of being followed up on in any of Marvel's future projects, which in turn has cheapened the idea of the MCU's post-credits scenes, as it's never sure whether any of them will end up meaning anything.
By deciding to omit post-credits scenes altogether, the DCU may be cleverly setting a precedent that fans shouldn't go in expecting big reveals at the end of its films, lowering expectations from the outset. It also prevents the studio from making promises it can't deliver on, particularly as Gunn and Safran appear to be taking a more measured approach to the DCU's slate rather than having dozens of interconnected films on the go at once that could benefit from being promoted in a post-credits clip.
