The biggest hole in James Gunn’s DCU has always been Batman.
Four years into the job, DC’s most valuable character has no DCU movie shooting, no casting, and per our insiders, no clear path to Gunn ever getting him on screen.
Here’s what we’ve been told about why.
Reeves Doesn’t Want Gunn Touching Batman Before The Batman Part II
Our insiders believe Matt Reeves pushed back against Gunn using Batman in Man of Tomorrow, and the calendar explains the concern.
Man of Tomorrow opens July 9, 2027.
The Batman Part II follows on October 1, 2027, just three months later.
Reeves’ worry, we’re told, is that whatever Gunn does with the Dark Knight would hurt his movie, which THR notes stands separate from the DCU.
There is a real internal struggle over it, because if Man of Tomorrow gets a negative reception, it could bleed directly onto Reeves’ film with only three months between them.
That protectiveness didn’t come from nowhere.
Concerns about Gunn’s Batman go back at least a year, when a WB insider told us at Comic-Con that execs were worried how Gunn’s lighter, goofier Superman tone would translate to a character built on the opposite.
And it tracks with the Reeves concerns our insiders described just a week ago, with word that Gunn has been all over the place without a clear plan.
The Brave And The Bold Was Supposed To Solve This. It Hasn’t.
There was a plan, and our insiders say it was specific.
They point out that, per Jeff Sneider, the original idea for The Brave and the Bold was to cast an older Batman to introduce Damian Wayne.
That fits what’s long been known about the project: a new Bruce Wayne alongside his son Robin, with Andy Muschietti attached to direct.
That movie has gone nowhere.
No casting. No date. No momentum. The trades now list it among the DC projects that simply haven’t materialized.
Instead, we’re told Gunn is under pressure to kitchen-sink Man of Tomorrow, loading the Superman sequel with everything on the shelf.
That lines up with what our insiders have said about the film being Gunn’s last hurrah, full of cameos and fan service, with his contract believed to expire right around its release.
A kitchen-sink swan song is exactly the kind of movie Gunn would want Batman in, and exactly the kind of movie Reeves would not want Batman anywhere near.
The DC Announcements Keep Coming. The Movies Don’t.
Our insiders also offer a blunt read on DC’s steady drip of project announcements: Gunn is putting out rumors of planned films as a facade to counter the Marvel buzz. We’re told that is Gunn’s exact approach with the Jimmy Olsen series, described to us as “weird” and a “superhero Spinal Tap.”
Look at the slate and the argument holds up.
Wonder Woman is, per its own writer, still so early it has no date, no director, and no cast. TheWrap reports DC’s new priority is a Bane/Deathstroke movie with no director or cast attached (speculated to be a buddy comedy movie). The Brave and the Bold has sat in development since 2023, waiting for the script to be “right.” Sound familiar?
The announcements keep coming. The movies don’t.
Filmmakers Are Wary Of Taking On Gunn’s DCU
The last piece is the talent pool.
Word around town, per our insiders, is that filmmakers are hesitant to take on big DC franchises right now.
This isn’t a new development, and our reporting has the timestamp. Back in October, our insiders told us DCU films were stalling because filmmakers were rejecting Gunn’s control, with directors walking rather than working under him.
Eight months later, it has only hardened, with Gillespie wearing the Supergirl failure after the “studio” took over his movie, and fans now catching filmmakers who don’t know the source material.
Whoever DC wants for a Batman project has been watching all of it.
THR also ran that Supergirl leak, which we believe shows that someone on the inside wants Gunn and Safran out.
The Batman That Is Working Is The One Gunn Doesn’t Control
Meanwhile, the Batman property that is moving forward and working is the one built the opposite way.
Scott Snyder’s Absolute Batman is selling 500,000 copies an issue and just drove an animated series greenlight, on the strength of taking the character seriously and trusting the audience to follow.
Fans reward commitment to the source and punish the lack of it.
Reeves, guarding the only Batman currently working on screen, is acting accordingly.
Add it up and the answer to the DCU’s Batman question isn’t complicated.
The director who has Batman won’t share him. The project meant to introduce a new Batman has stalled. The filmmakers who could make it are wary.
And the boss who wants Batman is running out of a contract just as a new owner is set to come on board.
Gunn’s DCU may end without ever putting its most important character on screen.
