When DC Studios announced its DCU "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate at the start of 2023, one of the most exciting-sounding projects for fans was The Brave and the Bold.
James Gunn confirmed that the idea was to tell the story of Batman training his son, Damian Wayne, as the new Robin. The filmmaker and DC Studios co-CEO's intention to adapt elements of Grant Morrison's Batman run was well-received, especially as it pointed to the DCU having an established Bat-Family.
Understandably, others have been less keen on the notion that The Brave and the Bold will gloss over the stories of characters like Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake.
Gunn has since hinted that The Brave and the Bold has undergone some big changes as the script is worked on, with the prevailing theory being that it will no longer revolve around Damian.
The Flash director Andy Muschietti and his sister, Barbara Muschietti, recently spoke with Variety about It: Welcome to Derry. Asked if they're still working on the DCU Batman movie (Andy will direct), producer Barbara said, "The intention is yes, but we can’t talk about it."
Andy added, "We have to wait a few, a couple of months to start talking about it...I screwed it already!" It seems he said too much by mentioning that, though this isn't too much of a surprise. We'd bet on Gunn once again meeting with select press at the start of 2026, where he'll update them on DC Studios' plans and likely share some release date details.
Heck, we may even finally get to find out who is playing Batman. Something that must have become clear to Gunn this year, as he promoted Superman and Peacemaker Season 2, is that fans are losing patience with his apparent inability to cast the Caped Crusader.
Recently, Gunn said that he likes where The Brave and the Bold's script is, but cautioned that "some things have changed" and that "plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff." When he was pushed on that comment and asked if Damian is still in the movie, he replied, "I think you have to wait to see exactly what's happening."
"People can guess and maybe they'll be right about certain things. We'd have to screen test, we'd have to do the whole thing," he later said of casting the DCU's Bruce Wayne before adding, "Okay, I see what you're doing. '1923', it's a really good TV show, like I can't believe how good that show was."
He later noted, "One actor in particular, a pretty big star, wants to be Batman. We’ve talked about it, but I don’t think that’s the case," likely a reference to Ritchson, who took himself out of the running after saying he'd met with Gunn.
Stay tuned for updates on The Brave and the Bold as we have them.