There is a strange problem brewing at DC: Batman is arguably the company’s biggest character, yet his future on the big screen suddenly feels remarkably uncertain.
With James Gunn and Peter Safran reportedly out of the DC picture, the future of The Brave and the Bold is naturally going to be questioned. That project was supposed to introduce a new Batman into the DC Universe, complete with Bruce Wayne’s son Damian Wayne as Robin. With James Gunn and Peter Safran out, this likely means that this is shelved with no idea on when or if we’ll ever see it.
Then there is Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe. The Batman Part II is still moving forward, giving Skydance and DC some breathing room. But Reeves has also reportedly faced his own complications, and it is not completely out of the realm of possibility that his version of the character never reaches a third movie. That leaves a pretty obvious question: where exactly does that leave Batman?
DC Can’t Afford to Leave Batman Sitting Around
There is an argument to be made that Batman is DC’s most important character. Superman might be the company’s foundational superhero, but Batman has become the cultural juggernaut. Movies, television, animation, video games, toys and comics have kept Bruce Wayne in the public consciousness for decades. Skydance can’t just expect that audiences are not going to suddenly stop wanting Batman movies.
Skydance has some grace here. The Batman Part II gives the studio another major Batman movie on the horizon, assuming everything stays on track. But eventually, audiences will start asking what comes next, whether that be in Gunn’s established DC universe; or within a new one that is made.
Give the Next Batman Movie a Direction
The next DC leadership team does not necessarily need to reinvent Batman. It needs to decide what kind of Batman movie it wants to make. The groundwork from The Brave and the Bold could potentially be useful. If the project has already spent years in development, there is no reason every piece of that work needs to disappear simply because the people originally overseeing DC are gone.
A new creative team could take what works and reshape it. More importantly, there is an opportunity to show audiences a version of Batman that we have not seen enough of in live action as we haven’t seen the Bat-family since Joel Schumacher’s Batman films in the 90’s and those are not most people’s idea of a definitive portrayal of the characters.
Let Batman Get Weird
One of the biggest missed opportunities with live-action Batman is the character’s more fantastical side. We have had plenty of grounded Batman. Christopher Nolan took him into a relatively realistic world. Reeves has gone even further into the gritty crime thriller territory.
Those movies work, but Batman’s world is much bigger than corrupt politicians, mobsters, and serial killers. Give us Clayface, Poison Ivy, Man Bat, Mr. Freeze, etc.. Give us genuinely strange villains and supernatural elements.
Batman can exist in a world where Superman flies around, Wonder Woman fights gods, and Green Lanterns travel through space. He does not need to pretend that everything in Gotham could happen in the real world.
And Please Give Us the Bat Family
The Brave and the Bold had one particularly exciting idea: Damian Wayne. Batman finally having a proper Robin in a major live-action movie could completely change the dynamic. Again, we aren’t counting the Joel Schumacher movies.
And why stop there? Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood, Tim Drake and the rest of the Bat Family could give Batman’s world an entirely different energy. Bruce Wayne does not always need to be the lonely guy glaring from a gargoyle. Sometimes Batman should have to deal with his kids who all have their own unique set of issues.
Or, Finally, Do Batman vs. Superman Properly
And yes, there is another option: Do Batman vs. Superman properly.
The idea itself is not the problem. The execution was. There is a fantastic Batman vs. Superman movie somewhere in the DC vault. It should be a clash of philosophies, personalities and approaches to heroism. Batman sees Superman as an existential threat. Superman sees Batman as a dangerous vigilante.
Let them actually hate each other for a while; let the conflict build naturally. And without any Martha scene.
Conclusion
The biggest issue facing Batman is not that DC has run out of ideas. It is that the character has already been explored from so many different angles that the next movie needs a reason to exist. At the same time, Sydance can’t just wait for something to happen. For whatever issues people had with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU; we all must admit that at the very least they had a plan.
Plans fall through, and that’s sometimes inevitable. Still, with Brave And The Bold potentially no longer happening; we need to know where Skydance plans to position the character and a hint on the direction would help hype fans up and let them know that they don’t need to wait much longer.
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