The biggest challenge James Gunn is facing with the DC Universe right now is figuring out how to get Batman into the fledgling franchise.
The “Superman” director and DC Studios co-CEO revealed as much in an interview published Monday by Rolling Stone. During his conversation with the outlet, Gunn offered an update on the DC Universe’s planned first Batman film, which he confirmed is still tentatively titled “The Brave and the Bold.”
“Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally. And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right, because he’s incredibly important to DC, as is Wonder Woman,” Gunn revealed. “Outside of the stuff that I’m doing in the projects that are actively going, our two priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman and our Batman scripts.”
When he was asked broadly what his problems with the character are right now, Gunn explained, “Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be ‘Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,’ which he is. But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman.”
While he wants to avoid delivering a take on the Caped Crusader that is too similar to the brooding, noir-inspired one played by Robert Pattinson in director Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” Gunn also said he does not want to go too far in the other direction. “He’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really. So we’re dealing with that,” Gunn noted. “I think I have a way in, by the way.”
“Wonder Woman I think is actually easier for me, because there haven’t been so many infinite portrayals of Wonder Woman — definitely not in movies, but really anywhere — that there have been of Batman. Every single Batman story has been told. It seems like half the comics that have come out of DC over the past 30 years have Batman in them,” Gunn added. “People love him because he’s interesting, but also having so much of him out there can also make him boring. So how do you create that property that’s fun to watch?”
When Gunn unveiled the first slate of projects for the DC Universe in January 2023, the filmmaker announced “The Brave and the Bold,” a Batman film that would team the DCU’s take on the Caped Crusader with Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s comic book son with Talia al Ghul. In June 2023, it was then announced that “The Flash” director Andy Muschietti would direct the film.
Announcements about the project have since been sparse, but Gunn has now given comic book fans some insight into why that has been the case.
In the same interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn also offered an update on “The Batman Part II,” director Matt Reeves’ sequel to 2022’s “The Batman.” “I’ll also say ‘Batman Part II’ is not canceled,” Gunn said. “We don’t have a script. Matt’s slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he’s doing. God, people are mean. Let him do his thing, man.”
As for whether or not Pattinson’s Batman could ever end up crossing over and becoming the DC Universe’s Caped Crusader, Gunn said, “It would be a consideration. We’d have to think about it. We’d have to think about it. It is not like we’ve never discussed it.” The DC Studios head later added, “It’s not likely. It’s not likely at all.”
