The DC world has been riding high recently. 2022 saw the birth of one of the most fun comic book shows in Peacemaker, coming off the high that was 2021’s The Suicide Squad. It was then followed by one of, if not the best Batman portrayals on the big screen with The Batman. Robert Pattinson was a surprise pick to become the caped crusader but quickly turned any doubter into a believer thanks to a heartracing, thrilling, mystery script from Matt Reeves.
Towards the end of 2022, DC made the biggest splash of all, announcing that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be heading this new era of DC. Gunn, who was behind The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, and the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for Marvel, was the perfect choice to correct everything that had gone awry with the DCEU.
Jump forward to 2024. We’ve recently gotten the new Superman teaser trailer, a phenomenal Penguin series, and a surprising hit with Creature Commandos. All was going right until a few days after Christmas when we got the double whammy of bad news: The Batman: Part 2 was being delayed a year from October 2026 to October 2027, and The Brave and the Bold (the DCU’s Batman) was facing a setback and won’t be releasing anytime soon.
Starting with The Batman: Part 2, it has been said that there is a legitimate reason why the film’s release is being pushed back. James Gunn said in a Threads post that the script isn’t ready, and once it is, there normally is a two-year production window. This has led to many people online speculating whether or not this is due to Robert Pattinson’s Batman potentially joining David Corenswet’s Superman in Gunn’s DCU.
Some have argued that it would make sense to only have one Batman going at a time so as to not confuse audience members, which makes complete sense. Matt Reeves told a very grounded tale and has indicated a desire to keep his universe separate and along those grounded lines. Could this extra time be the opportunity to work on how his portrayal of Gotham can fit in the same world we’ve briefly seen in Gunn’s Superman teaser and previous works?
On the other hand, I feel like there is a way for two Batman universes to coexist at the same time: one grounded (Reeves) and one more fantastical (DCU). Tonally, the movies can differ enough that a casual fan can distinguish the two, like how Todd Phillip’s Joker and Zack Snyder’s Joker in his universe both existed at the same time. If the costume design is different enough and most importantly, whoever is cast as the DCU Batman delivers a good enough performance, it can work.
As for The Brave and the Bold, director Andy Muschietti added in his comments that with the uncertainty of his film, he might make another film before returning to his Batman movie. Again, this opens up endless possibilities of how this could relate to The Batman. Could Muschietti end up leaving the project entirely? Could the setbacks be caused by a change in Matt Reeves’s plans? I might be going crazy trying to connect dots that don’t exist yet, but as of now, all we know is that both Batman movies we were expecting are being pushed back and facing delays.
There is a plan in place and the most likely outcome is that these are two separate instances of hiccups in the movie-making process. The Batman: Part 2 and The Brave and The Bold might only be connected by the caped crusader, but as of now, they both share the fact that we’ll have to wait a little longer to see them.
