Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II finally begins production next Spring, and with the movie confirmed to be an Elseworlds project set outside the main DCU continuity, fans remain eager for news on The Brave and the Bold.
Much has been said about how wise it is to have two live-action versions of Batman on screen at the same time. Many fans feel that it will confuse moviegoers, though The Batman being sandwiched between Ben Affleck's appearances in Zack Snyder's Justice League and The Flash didn't appear to cause that many headaches.
Talking to the Phase Hero podcast, Gunn addressed whether he has any concerns about audiences struggling to follow the idea of Robert Pattinson playing the Caped Crusader at the same time another actor suits up as the DCU's Dark Knight.
"Is it causing anybody grief in any way? I think it was the same thing. I think that people are really starting to learn about stuff like that. One of the weirdest things for me is that big fans are often like, 'Well, listen, I understand this, but normies will never understand this. Casuals will never understand this.' But the truth is, guys, that you're the ones that don't understand."
"The casuals always understand. You can say, 'Oh, yeah, he's changed Peacemaker, there was some Justice League [characters that] was in that. Now it's Justice Gang.' And regular people who just like TV shows are like, 'Oh, okay. That's weird.' And then they're done. But the people who really focus on this stuff, they're in our bubble. And the people in our bubble think that everyone outside of that bubble is too stupid to understand nuance. And it is just totally not the case."
There are arguments for and against Gunn's take, and regardless of whether the "normies" can figure it out, the odds are being stacked against The Brave and the Bold by making it compete with Reeves' "The Batman Epic Crime Saga."
When DC Studios announced its "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate, it was revealed that The Brave and the Bold would be based on Grant Morrison's Batman run. In that, Bruce Wayne is shocked to learn that he has a 10-year-old son with Talia al Ghul. The hero takes the boy—who has been trained as a killer—under his wing and makes him the new Robin.
In a separate conversation with IGN, Gunn said that he likes where The Brave and the Bold's script is, but cautioned that "some things have changed" and that "plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff."
The site pushed him on that comment and wondered if Damian is still in the movie, prompting Gunn to reply, "I think you have to wait to see exactly what's happening."
The issue with introducing Damian this soon is that it means Batman will have to be in his 30s or 40s...and that he'll have already gone through at least three sidekicks in Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake. That's a lot of time and potentially great stories to gloss over.
As always, let us know your thoughts on Gunn's latest update in the comments section.