In a recent social media post, DC Studios head James Gunn teased the three things he is focusing on to make the DCU's Batman shine. While Matt Reeves is hard at work on his own vision for the Dark Knight as part of his ongoing The Batman series, Gunn and the DCU team are crafting a new, unique Batman tale, set within their interconnected on-screen canon.
Despite seemingly being a pillar of the DCU's story going forward, still relatively little is known about the franchise's take on the Caped Crusader. The Flash director Andy Muschietti has been attached to the DC Studios Batman project, but outside of that, details are scarce.
James Gunn offered a little bit more clarity on the DCU's Batman thanks to a recent post on his personal Threads account. Replying to fans, as he has been known to do, Gunn revealed there are three things he is focused on in helping craft this new bat-based story.
When asked about the most requested features of a DC Studios, Batman, Gunn responded, "The most requested thing would be the blue and grey [suit]," and "white eyes," but he is much more concentrated on several other things:
The most requested thing would be the blue and grey. Then the yellow around the bat. And THEN the white eyes. But all of those things I find less important than the character himself, the writing, and the person who plays him."
The DCU Batman movie, titled The Brave and the Bold, has not yet been dated, but it is supposedly progressing well in development. The last fans heard about the project, Gunn was still waiting on a script to move forward with, before casting would likley commence.
The 3 Things That Will Define The DCU's Batman
The Character Himself
James Gunn's mention of the character himself in discussing the DCU Batman is likley a comment on the specific take on the hero that they will incorporate into the interconnected DC universe with its Dark Knight.
Will it be an older Batman? A younger one? Will he have sidekicks? How many? Each of these questions will help define what makes this Batman different from every other version of the character seen on-screen to date.
The DCU Batman movie was pitched initially to feature an in-his-prime Batman, as he operates alongside his son, Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin. This would mean, if we are following the same Batman story that fans are familiar with from the comics, that this take on the Caped Crusader would have already been shaped and formed by the various tragedies and successes of superhero-ing to this point.
The Writing
The writing will be the next major factor to differentiate the DCU Batman from Matt Reeves' The Batman, as well as other takes on the character from past movies.
Batman can occupy a variety of tonal spaces. He can be goofy and a little zany, like Adam West's version of the character. He can also be dark and gritty, just like Matt Reeves' The Batman. And even within those specific narrative milieus, there are very different-feeling/looking Batman stories that take place.
The writing for this new DCU Batman project will dictate the type of Dark Knight that DC Studios is getting, and what pieces of Batman's tonal mellange it will want to lean into.
The Actor
And, of course, the last (and arguably most important) thing that James Gunn is prioritizing is the actor who will play the character. Each new actor who dons the cape and cowl brings their own unique flavor to the role, which no amount of writing or world-building can beat.
Nothing official has been announced in terms of who will be playing the DCU Batman, but there have been several names thrown around that fans seem to think would make good picks. Several popular fan-casts include Brandon Sklenar, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Alan Ritchson (read about The Direct's best picks to play the DCU Batman here).
Fans will likley not hear anything on the DCU Batman casting search until James Gunn has a script in his hands, no matter how many potential actors fans throw out there online.
