As the end of the Writers Guild of America strike seems to finally be here, movies can resume development, including a highly-anticipated upcoming DC reboot.
Announced back in January with the rest of the first slate of projects in James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC universe, The Brave and the Bold reboot is one of the most highly anticipated projects to come with the change in leadership.
It has been previously reported that DC has hired The Flash director Andy Muschietti to direct The Brave and the Bold as well. However, those reports all came before The Flash absolutely bombed at the box office.
With development stalled since the start of the WGA strike, it makes sense that no news has surfaced since, even if plans have changed in light of The Flash's terrible reception.
In fact, no progress on the movie could be officially made since May when the strikes started, as no script had been written when writers started picketing.
Development Can Resume on Batman Reboot
Now that the WGA has reached a tentative agreement with production studios, development on movies that don't have scripts yet — such as The Brave and the Bold — can finally resume, according to Deadline.
News of DC Studios finding a writer for The Brave and the Bold could come soon, now that whoever takes the job can start on the scriptwriting process.
Prior to the start of the actor's strike — which is still ongoing now, even with the tentative WGA deal — movies could continue development and production, so long as a script had been written.
If the WGA and AMPTP agreement goes through, the opposite will be the case. Movies that don't have scripts written can continue development, while those that do and were mid-filming will still be stalled.
This means that the confirmed DC movie projects in James Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted universe (besides Superman: Legacy, which has a script finished) can continue development. Notably, The Brave and the Bold fits that bill.
Though The Authority is implied to be released before the Batman reboot, more about the early development for the latter has been announced, as a potential director does exist for The Brave and the Bold.
Thus, it is possible that The Brave and the Bold is further along in development, which would make sense as the stakes are fairly higher than those for a movie starring characters who have not appeared outside of comics before.
What Could a Batman Reboot Script Look Like?
For a movie without a finished script, there is actually a fair bit known about The Brave and the Bold.
For one, it will feature Damian Wayne's first-ever live-action appearance, with the comics' fifth Robin taking on the mantle in the upcoming movie. Further, it will feature other members of the Bat Family, as Safran confirmed.
Gunn has indicated the potential of some such characters being Dick Grayson's Nightwing and Cassandra Cain's Batgirl, though those are not official characters yet.
Additionally, the script being developed will take cues from Grant Morrison's run on Batman in the comics. Interestingly, while the movie's Batman is confirmed to be Bruce Wayne and Morrison has written plenty of the most famous man behind the cowl, much of the promotional material from DC has featured panels and art from when Dick wore the cowl, with Damian as his Robin.
As such, it is likely that the script will include elements from Morrison's Batman runs with Bruce and Damian, their Batman and Robin run with Dick and Damian, though with Bruce still under the cowl, and possibly even their Batman Inc. run which starred all three.
Luckily, as development finally resumes, fans will hopefully get more information.
The Brave and the Bold has no official release date but will be part of James Gunn's DCU slate.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
