13 Ways DC Is Attempting To Combat The Marvel Films Model
3. Backwards Continuity
Using backwards continuity is a trick to make viewers feel as if characters were always there, lurking in the backgrounds of previous adventures and influencing things from behind the scenes. Even if the initial film hadnt been conceived with this in mind, if executed properly, it makes them feel developed, and re-contextualizes parts of the original film.
DC is specifically attempting to do this around the Battle of Metropolis from the end of Man Of Steel. For one, theres Zods cataclysmic World Engine, which Superman throws into the sea. We now learn that this pissed off Aquaman and hes coming to the surface as a result. Likewise, the Batman V Superman trailers make it very clear that Bruce Wayne was there during the attack, helping rescue people.
While we never actually saw either of these characters in Man Of Steel, retroactively putting them there without obstructing the original films narrative is an ingenious way of ingraining them within the established world.
Fixing characters into this pre-existing moment seems to be a much better route than burdening stories with setting up the future. It means theyre waiting for something to succeed before building off of it, and not wasting time developing future storylines that we may not want or get to see.