DC Studios announced its "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate at the start of 2023, and as we approach the third anniversary of the DCU's launch, James Gunn and Peter Safran still haven't found a Batman.
Following multiple delays, Matt Reeves' The Batman 2 is finally taking shape and will begin shooting next year. However, that's an "Elseworlds" project and won't be connected to movies like Superman and Clayface.
Gunn has repeatedly said that he's struggled to figure out what the DCU's Dark Knight will look like, something which surely hasn't been helped by having Reeves' critically acclaimed franchise to compete with. Still, Andy Muschietti remains attached to direct The Brave and the Bold from a script by an unnamed writer.
Fans have put forward many names for who they would like to see play Batman, and Wicked: For Good and Jurassic World Rebirth star Jonathan Bailey remains a popular choice. After previously liking social media posts supporting the notion of his playing Bruce Wayne, Bailey weighed in on the fan casts while appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
"Would I do Batman? I grew up with Val Kilmer, George Clooney, obviously Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson," the actor started. "It’s a legacy. I think James Gunn is amazing. Who knows..."
It's not much, but he clearly has some interest in playing the Caped Crusader. The actor looks the part and is no stranger to action after holding his own alongside Scarlett Johansson in the latest Jurassic World movie.
Gunn previously said this about introducing the DCU's Batman at the same time Robert Pattinson's version swoops back into theaters:
"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."
You can hear more from Bailey in the player below (the Batman talk starts around the 5:44 mark).