It’s doubtful that there’s a comic book fan in existence who isn’t waiting for James Gunn’s Batman. We’ve seen Gunn do wonders with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and The Suicide Squad. People also have very high hopes for Superman starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult. As pumped as everyone is for the Man of Steel, we want the Dark Knight. Thankfully, there is good news in that regard.
The Direct reports that James Gunn was asked by Omlete. "How many scripts featuring Batman do you expect to read in the next couple of months?" And, ask a simple question, and get a simple answer in return. Gunn said, “Two.” Now, the question on everyone’s mind is probably what two scripts he is reading.
We definitely know what one of them will be...
The Batman Part II
We have to start with Robert Pattinson’s The Batman franchise because the 2022 Matt Reeves-directed movie was one of the best comic book movies in years. And, for a while, it looked like it would never be released. But, after a few years of waiting, reports of rescheduling, and jokes about Robert Pattinson retiring, it was recently confirmed that Matt Reeves’ script for The Batman Part II is finished.
In Matt Reeves’ defense, there was a writer’s strike between movies. It also didn’t help that the anticipation for The Batman Part II was heightened after The Penguin was released. We now know that this is one of the scripts James Gunn is reading, as he revealed that "it's great" at the Superman premiere, so we could be looking at promising news for this Elseworlds Dark Knight movie.
That's one of the two Batman scripts he will be reading. As for the other one, there is one very likely option.
The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold was one of the first projects announced when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as the co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios. It's a title expected to focus on a different Batman - one exclusive to the DC Universe franchise - along with a Robin. Naturally, this led to questions about which Batman and Robin we’d see.
Would it be Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne? Or Bruce Wayne with Tim Drake or Damian Wayne with an adult Jason Todd and Dick Grayson as adults. Or maybe Dick is still the Boy Wonder. We have no idea where this is going. But if this is one of the scripts, we may have news soon.
Fans have been waiting for more updates about the DCU's Batman and now they could finally be upon us.
The bad news
The truth is that we have no idea which scripts James Gunn is reading. We do know that one of them is very likely The Batman 2 but there are technically other options for the second one. He could be talking about upcoming DCU animated movie Dynamic Duo, Batman: Caped Crusader season 2, or even something that hasn’t yet been announced. It’s easy to forget that Gunn has a lot of things on his plate, and Batman won't be the only Bat Family character in the DCU. He also knows that saying anything related to the Dark Knight will be turned into speculation (the irony is lost on me).
When Batman appeared in Creature Commandos, Gunn said, "When they first gave it to me, we saw a LOT more Batman. And I was saying, ‘I am not ready to commit to that. I’m not ready to commit to that. I’m not ready to commit to that. ‘So I was just like, ‘more silhouette, more silhouette, more silhouette’."
So, what does all of this mean? Well, only that this isn’t Gunn’s first rodeo. Saying he’s reading a couple of scripts instead of being specific leaves things up in the air. It’s a smart move by someone who’s seen how even something as simple as a silhouette can lead to angry internet “fans” and things taken out of context.
We'll have to wait and see which two scripts he was reading, but the good thing about all of this is that it's a very exicting time to be a fan of Batman.
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