DC Studios is creating a new shared world meant to rival the MCU, but it sounds like Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav's patience may already be wearing thin.
Last year's strikes saw James Gunn and Peter Safran forced to down tools on several upcoming DCU movies and TV shows. While Creature Commandos is nearly here and Superman is in post-production for a summer 2025 release, there's still a long way to go until DC Studios can find even a measure of Marvel Studios' success.
Batman remains DC's biggest draw - even a show without him, The Penguin, is a ratings hit - but with The Batman - Part II not heading our way until 2026, what of DC Studios' The Brave and the Bold?
According to Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, Zaslav wants the DCU's Batman on our screens sooner rather than later to better compete with Marvel Studios. One idea that's been mooted is for The Batman star Robert Pattinson to become the DCU's Dark Knight following the sequel's release.
This by no means sounds like something that's definitely happening, but it's a notion which makes sense on several different levels.
DC Studios has already given notes on The Penguin and Gunn and filmmaker Matt Reeves at least considered making the planned Arkham Asylum-set TV series part of the DCU (a move which baffled pretty much everyone when it was meant to take place in the same world as The Batman).
There's nothing in The Batman stopping it from retroactively becoming the first DCU movie, though how willing Pattinson will be to potentially spend the next decade showing up in all manner of crossover events is hard to say. Then again, Batman doesn't have to be a member of the Justice League in this new reality (we've seen plenty of iterations of the team without him).
Andy Muschietti was announced as The Brave and the Bold's director right before The Flash raced into theaters last June. Gunn called it one of the best superhero movies ever, but audiences disagreed. Reviews were so-so and the visual effects are still ridiculed over a year later. The haunting CG cameos also remain incredibly controversial.
The Flash was also a box office bomb and Muschietti helming DC Studios' Batman reboot feels equivalent to Madame Web director SJ Clarkson being tapped to helm Spider-Man 4 or entrusting Nia DaCosta with Avengers: Secret Wars after The Marvels' struggles. It doesn't add up.
Plus, how can any Batman live up to Pattinson's version? He's already a fan favourite and anyone who has to share the spotlight with him will surely struggle.
We'll see how this one pans out in the coming months.