Warner Bros. and DC have opened up about the fate of its animated Tomorrowverse movies, saying that the series was always meant to end after 10 films.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One executive producer Butch Lukic and producer Jim Krieg talked about the superhero timeline during an interview with Screen Rant. The duo commented on why the animated movie universe, which began with Superman: Man of Tomorrow in 2020, will conclude after only around three and a half years.
While many might have assumed that the end of Tomorrowverse might have something to do with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU, the reasoning is far simpler:
“We already pre-planned this years ago that they [Warner Bros] were basically wanting us to do this universe in 10 movies,” Lukic said. “That's all we were given.”
Lukic explains that Warner Bros. felt that a stretch of 20 movies would be too long. Considering Gunn and Safran weren’t named co-CEOs of DC Studios until 2022, it sounds like their DCU wasn’t in the picture when plans for the Tomorrowverse’s 10-film run were falling into place.
“Honestly, we would have been happy to do 20 [movies.] But when you want to do 20, and someone offers you 10, you'd say yes anyway,” Krieg said. “We just had to pack as many characters and arcs into the first seven and the shorts, - don't forget the shorts they're germane, and canon to the end."
Krieg adds that the final Tomorrowverse projects should tie up the 10-film series nicely.
The Day After Tomorrowverse
The Tomorrowverse will conclude with Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two and Part Three, which are set to release later this year. After that, fans have Gunn and Safran’s Gods and Monsters phase to look forward to. These include the much-talked-about Superman movie, Superman: Legacy, as well as other live-action projects like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Don't expect animated content to come to an end when Gods and Monsters kicks off. Gunn has already written the entire first season of Creature Commandos, which is described as an animated, seven-episode show where Amanda Waller recruits a team of monster villains.
The Tomorrowverse may not have much time left, but its story is still unfolding. Release dates for Justice Leage: Crisis on Infinite Earths' second and third parts have yet to be revealed. Part One, however, released digitally on January 9, with a Blue-ray and SteelBook release set to arrive tomorrow, January 23.
We said we enjoyed our time with Part One in our review: "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One doesn't reveal or accomplish much, but it delivers enough fun, clarity, and sentiment to keep fans pumped for the next part."
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
