In 2023, James Gunn announced his and Peter Safran's ambitious slate for DC Studios. Now, three years later, a lot ended up changing from that original slate, but nevertheless, the DCU has seemed to be running quite smoothly under Gunn and Safran's watchful eye. The studio has already released three projects—Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2 and Superman— and is gearing up for next year's offerings in the form of Supergirl, Lanterns and Clayface.
Indeed, things seem to be going quite well at the studio, regardless of the franchise taking a different path than what had originally been envisioned. Yet, there is one project from that initial slate that continues to be in development, and that people have been eagerly anticipating: The Brave and the Bold.
The project, which is meant to focus on Bruce Wayne's relationship with his son, Damian Wayne (more on that below), has gone through a long development process. Following an initial announcement of Andy Muschietti being attached as director, the movie has seemingly remained in a state of limbo for a while. Now, James Gunn has addressed the project's arduous road to materializing.
The Superman director and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran took center stage in a profile piece for Bloomberg. When addressing WBD's sale, the DC chiefs said they don't let corporate dealings get in the way of their work, and instead focus on the scripts of their projects. That's when Gunn chimed in, addressing the long delay faced by The Brave and the Bold: "If you're gonna make a Batman movie, it better be f—ing awesome."
While setbacks like the ones faced by The Brave and the Bold typically lead to projects eventually getting shelved, DC Studios appears committed to crafting this Batman project to the best of its abilities. In fact, Batman comics are said to be abundant in the studio's offices. As Bloomberg described at the start of the article: "The surface of the workspace is buried under Batman and Wonder Woman comic books, merchandise and annotated scripts."
As frustrating as it may be for some to wait so long for the DCU's take on the Caped Crusader, Gunn's reluctance to move forward with the project until he feels it's ideal for release bodes well for the adaptation. While the premise has been known for some time, it appears the plot could be in line for a signifcant overhaul. Speaking to IGN in September 2025, Gunn was asked if DCU's Batman would be in his mid-to-late 30s, given the fact that Damian is typically portrayed as a 10-year-old. Interestingly, Gunn replied the following:
"No, I think you have to wait to see the movie. Some things have changed. Plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff, so I wouldn't take any of it–Yeah, I mean, the actor who wants to... Listen, first of all, I can't tell you the amount of big actors that have told me they want to be Batman. I think you'd have a harder time finding actors who don't want to be Batman. He's the one character everyone wants to play. That's the truth."
Then, when asked whether Damian was still in the movie, Gunn replied: "I think you have to wait to see exactly what's happening." From this, it sounds like the DCU's Batman movie could be considerably different upon release than the one initially announced by Gunn in his original 2023 slate reveal. However, even if that is the case, it's exciting to know DC Studios is hard at work on delivering a worthy adaptation of the Dark Knight.
Clayface will hit theaters on September 11, 2026. The Batman Part II will then arrive on October 1, 2027.
What do you think about James Gunn's comments regarding DCU's Batman movie? How similar to the original announcement do you think The Brave and the Bold will ultimately be? Drop your thoughts in the comments!