Batman: The Brave and the Bold

DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn announced plans to reset the DC Universe and remake it for a new generation of comic book fans.

The DC Cinematic Universe will consist of various television series and movies that funnel into one another through overlapping stories and characters. One of those new flicks is The Brave and the Bold, presenting a very different side to the Batman and Robin partnership.

The new DC Universe plan is a similar model presented by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and one that Gunn hopes will bring audiences back to DC content.

Prior to this new unveiling, DC-related projects like Batgirl and The CW’s Arrowverse have come under scrutiny as of late. Warner Bros. Discovery canceled many of its existing projects to save money and go back to the drawing board to improve upon its comic book content.

However, with the help of new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, the DC Universe is shaping up to have a thrilling comeback. Here is all we know about the new Batman film, The Brave and the Bold.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD WILL INTRODUCE BATMAN’S EXTENDED COMIC BOOK FAMILY

The Batman movie The Brave and the Bold is based on Scottish comic book writer Grant Morrison’s work expanding the characters of Batman and Robin.

As part of the new “Gods and Monsters” chapter of the DC Universe, The Brave and the Bold will center on the extended Batman family, primarily Damian Wayne. Damian is the offspring of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, the latter of whom is the daughter of Batman’s archenemy Ra’s al Ghul.

Damian Wayne assumes the role of Robin to his father’s Batman. He is trained by the League of Assassins and is often at odds between his father’s vigilante ways and his mother’s narcissistic agenda. He is the son that Batman never knew he had until they meet when Damian is around 10 years old.

However, DC Studios has quickly pointed out that The Brave and the Bold will not simply be a father-son/Batman and Robin entry into the DC Universe. According to Empire Online, Peter Safran notes that the film will “feature other members of the extended Bat-Family. Just because we feel like they’ve been left out of the Batman stories in the cinema for far too long.”

During his highly anticipated announcement, James Gunn remarked that The Brave and the Bold would feature a new type of Robin not seen in theaters previously. Gunn noted that Damian Wayne is his favorite Robin because “He was raised as a little murderer and assassin.”

THIS MOVIE WILL RECAST THE CAPED CRUSADER

The Brave and the Bold was turned into an animated television series of the same name in the late 2000s, incorporating many characters from DC Comics. This time around, Gunn and Safran are looking to completely recast Batman, who has recently been played by Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson in competing projects. While the movie is still in the development stage, no casting announcements have been made.

It is too early to tell which other characters will appear in The Brave and the Bold besides Batman, Damian Wayne, and Talia al Ghul. However, audiences will likely see Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, Jason Todd, and Dick Grayson, who all appear in the source material conceived by Grant Morrison.

In the past two decades, audiences have seemingly been inundated with comic book movies, with Batman as a leading figure in many of DC Studios’ offerings. A prominent member of the Justice League, Batman has been embodied by Ben Affleck in recent Snyderverse installments alongside Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill as Superman.

Likewise, actor Robert Pattinson took on The Caped Crusader role for 2022’s The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves. He is set to reprise the role in The Batman 2, seen as a conflicting project to the DC Universe’s utilization of the character in projects like The Brave and the Bold.

2019 gave audiences a peek inside the prequel days of the Joker, a supervillain within the Batman stories of DC Comics. Joaquin Phoenix played the titular character in Joker and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Todd Phillips’ film. The movie will get a sequel entitled Joker: Folie à Deux in 2024, currently in production with Phoenix reprising the role alongside Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.

James Gunn has no intention of using Robert Pattinson in any capacity within the newly revised DC Universe, but Pattinson’s The Batman films will instead be under the DC Elseworlds banner. He has also balked at the idea of bringing Ben Affleck back as the character of Batman but notes that Affleck could take on other roles in the future. Polygon reports that Gunn has expressed interest in Affleck coming to the DC Universe as a director, possibly helming either The Brave and the Bold or a different flick.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD HAS NO FORMAL RELEASE DATE

During James Gunn’s well-publicized announcement last week, the Guardians of the Galaxy director laid out defined plans for the future of the DC Universe. These included several television shows like Waller, starring Viola Davis, and Creature Commandos, an animated series consisting of many of DC’s most monstrous characters. Other movies on the docket include The Authority, Swamp Thing, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

But, after legacy projects like Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash finally seeing the light of day this year, Gunn and Peter Safran have faith that Superman: Legacy will help revitalize their new franchise. Superman: Legacy is currently set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025, which will kick off the latest slate of DC Universe content.

It is expected that The Brave and the Bold will follow shortly after that, but the new movie does not have a release date as of yet. The timeline of many of the DC Universe projects will coincide with Joker: Folie à Deux in 2024 and Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 opening in October 2025. With this timeline in mind, it should be assumed that The Brave and the Bold will debut in theaters sometime in 2026.