James Gunn Pushes Back on THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Delay Reports: “Nothing Is on Hold”
Superman gave James Gunn’s DCU a decent theatrical launch in 2025, but building a new DC universe without Batman was never going to work for long.
The Dark Knight has to enter the picture eventually, and Gunn has now offered some clarification about where his DCU Batman movie stands following reports that the project had been put on hold.
We’ve known for some time that Batman will make his DCU debut in The Brave and the Bold, which will introduce a new version of the character separate from Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
Superman star David Corenswet has also talked about wanting his Man of Steel to eventually cross paths with Batman, making the arrival of the Caped Crusader one of the biggest pieces of Gunn’s expanding universe.
The problem is that we still don’t know when that arrival will happen. While the Superman side of the DCU is moving forward with Man of Tomorrow, which is scheduled to hit theaters July 9, 2027, there hasn’t been much movement on The Brave and the Bold.
That lack of news opened the door for recent reports claiming the Batman film had been delayed amid complications surrounding the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger.
Some of those reports suggested that The Brave and the Bold director Andy Muschietti had even confirmed the project was being held up. According to Gunn, that isn’t what’s happening.
When the rumor began circulating online, Gunn responded directly on social media and pushed back against the claim: “It doesn’t sound like something Andy would have said, but the project is in no way on hold.”
Gunn followed that up when asked specifically whether the Paramount and Warner Bros. situation had resulted in DC projects being paused: “No. Nothing is on hold.”
It doesn’t give us a release date, casting news, or any indication of when cameras might start rolling, but it does mean The Brave and the Bold is still moving forward.
Considering how quickly rumors can turn into accepted “facts” online, getting a direct response from Gunn helps clear up some of the confusion surrounding the project.
Of course, The Brave and the Bold still has another major Batman-sized obstacle to work around. Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II is currently scheduled for 2028.
Reeves’ Batman universe remains separate from Gunn’s DCU, but Warner Bros. will still have two major live-action versions of Batman operating at roughly the same time. It would make sense for the studio to put some distance between The Batman: Part II and The Brave and the Bold rather than having the two films competing for attention.
So, even without a merger-related delay, we could still be waiting a while before Gunn’s Batman finally swoops into the DCU.
That makes getting this particular version of the character right even more important. Following Supergirl’s disappointing box office performance, DC Studios could certainly use another major theatrical win, and few characters come with the kind of built-in audience Batman has.
More importantly, Batman will eventually become a key part of the larger DCU alongside Superman and the rest of DC’s heroes. The Brave and the Bold also gives Gunn and his team an opportunity to explore a side of Batman that audiences haven’t really seen in live-action movies, particularly through his relationship with Damian Wayne.
There’s still plenty we don’t know about the film, including who will wear the cape and cowl, when production will begin, and where it will land on the DCU release calendar.
Batman is still coming to the DCU. Now we just need to find out who gets to say, “I’m Batman.”