Writer(s) and director.

[Eddie Dean]

Renfield will be the biggest hit of 2023

 

[Invader Joker]

This is a bit of a left-field suggestion but what about Darren Aronofsky?
I get that because of his Batman Year One pitch, plus the fact that he hasn't done many commercial movies in his life, one might think he'd never do something like this buuuut...
He was supposed to direct The Wolverine 10 years ago and he only dropped out because he didn't want to be out of the country for that long. He's expressed interest in the comic book genre several times, and doesn't seem to have as much of a stick on his ass as some people may think based on his work.

I also feel that Morrison's run and even the concept of Damian Wayne "child assasin that got raised in an abusive cult" might end up being weirdly appealing to him. His sensibilities somehow don't seem too far off from Morrison's. Hell the whole League of Assasins seem like they'd be right up his alley.

 

[Invader Joker]

There's also this:

 

[TMP98]

This is a bit of a left-field suggestion but what about Darren Aronofsky?
I get that because of his Batman Year One pitch, plus the fact that he hasn't done many commercial movies in his life, one might think he'd never do something like this buuuut...
He was supposed to direct The Wolverine 10 years ago and he only dropped out because he didn't want to be out of the country for that long. He's expressed interest in the comic book genre several times, and doesn't seem to have as much of a stick on his ass as some people may think based on his work.

I also feel that Morrison's run and even the concept of Damian Wayne "child assasin that got raised in an abusive cult" might end up being weirdly appealing to him. His sensibilities somehow don't seem too far off from Morrison's. Hell the whole League of Assasins seem like they'd be right up his alley.

A Batman movie which is 2 hours of beating you over the head with religious symbolism and characters mouth-piecing the themes of the movie

 

[Invader Joker]

A Batman movie which is 2 hours of beating you over the head with religious symbolism and characters mouth-piecing the themes of the movie

I mean, seeing how this is based on the same run that had a comic called Batman #666 that was an allegory to the antichrist maybe he wouldn't be that bad a choice for that.

 

[Sawyer]

I just don’t think this would play to his strengths, if this ends up being as Morrison-inspired as we’ve been lead to believe.

 

[J.Drangal]

Looks like that WB source that the NY Post spoke to might’ve been right. It might be a struggle for Gunn to get quality directors onboard.

Because of one director who's said he isn't interested in these massive films time and time again? Mangold is seemingly in the fold as well for Swamp Thing, so that idea is pretty shaky.

But has Mangold actually met with Gunn to see if his vision is in line with his DCU?
The main takeaway from Affleck's statement to me is not that he doesn't want to make a DC movie, but that he won't do it within the framework Gunn has defined.
And there in lies the whole challenge and why the struggle mentioned wouldn't surprise me.

There's no doubt that many directors, veteran, new or aspiring, dream of making a Batman movie. But what about a version with an already established tone? With an obligatory older Batman, probably very classic in his characterization? With an imposed Robin alongside him? A Robin who is actually his son? All these conditions can certainly narrow the candidate list very quickly...
Add to that the fact that for years DC movies has mostly made the headlines in disastrous circumstances for the profession, with directors being fired during production, alternative cuts or movies simply being canceled after completion of their shooting. Add also that maybe some of the potential directors are also starting to get tired of superheroes themselves or also feeling that the genre might be about to take a hard nosedive... Yeah, it's no wonder recruiting may eventually be tough...

The irony is that I really think that if, a few years ago, Warner had spread the word that its DC catalog was available for adaptation with some carte blanche, the studio may had find success through movies with, say with an "extra soul" compared to the competition.
I'm sure we would have seen quite a few directors lining up to adapt Superman. Maybe we could have even had surprises like, who know, Plastic-Man and maybe even Del Toro would have really put together his JLDark.
Too bad Warner didn't see what worked best for them in the past by letting creatives make these characters their own and instead tried (and still is) to catch up with the Marvel/Disney formula.

I want to stay optimistic but I increasingly expect Gunn&Safran project to get the worst possible timing. Both behind the scenes, in finding something else than yes-men (even if that doesn't always means bad films), and with the public who may not respond.
I know the saying that "quality attracts audiences", but that's always true. In my opinion, in recent years the genre has gone too far in saturating the market with an overall quality that is too average to really rebound in the short term. Or let's rather say that the success of the next well-made/well-received cbm may be more timid because the target audience may have diminished because of the fatigue.
If that's probably still going to be enough to break even (honestly, all of these movies absolutely must not exceed $1 billion), who knows how those more modest numbers will be appreciated by a studio that, despite the heads that come and go in its direction, had always seen greener grass elsewhere...

Anyway, we'll see! In any case, it makes for great discussion!

 

[Invader Joker]

But has Mangold actually met with Gunn to see if his vision is in line with his DCU?
The main takeaway from Affleck's statement to me is not that he doesn't want to make a DC movie, but that he won't do it within the framework Gunn has defined.

One would assume so seeing how both of them have been retweeting one another Swamp Thing related stuff for a bit now.


You guys are making waaaay too big a deal over this Ben Affleck "loss", especially since he's not someone whose sensibilities you can say are undeniably great. His biggest movie bombed, his Batman movie seemed atrocious. Would he have been interesting for Brave and the Bold? Yes, but losing him is not something to lose sleep over. It's not like they're losing this undeniable champion of cinema here, he's never been actually particularly exciting as a director.

Hell may I remind you last time Ben Affleck dropped from directing a DC movie, that ended up leading us to The Batman. So yeah.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

"Worked for them in the past" You mean the time when the only successful superhero franchise they had was the Nolan Batman movies and they botched Superman with Superman Returns, and botched things with Green Lantern, and gave us a ****ty Jonah Hex movie, not mention that Halle Berry Catwoman movie.

I think some people romanticize the "pre-MCU era" of comic book movies way too much.

 

[J.Drangal]

One would assume so seeing how both of them have been retweeting one another Swamp Thing related stuff for a bit now.

Oh yeah, I just forgot about that. Retweets between all these people often seem to me to be just a little polite thing that we shouldn't try to read too much into but if Mangold is truly aboard, then cool. He's a respected director and it can only help the project attract others.

You guys are making waaaay too big a deal over this Ben Affleck "loss", especially since he's not someone whose sensibilities you can say are undeniably great. His biggest movie bombed, his Batman movie seemed atrocious. Would he have been interesting for Brave and the Bold? Yes, but losing him is not something to lose sleep over. It's not like they're losing this undeniable champion of cinema here, he's never been actually particularly exciting as a director.

Hell may I remind you last time Ben Affleck dropped from directing a DC movie, that ended up leading us to The Batman. So yeah.

Oh, I don't care if Affleck is directing or not, I haven't seen any of these movies in the director's chair anyway...
I just bounced off from the way he made his statement and put it in perspective with emc5466's post about rumors that Gunn was having trouble finding collaborators. Sure Affleck case is its own thing because of his history with the licence but that supposed struggle is still something that seems very possible to me. Even logical to some extent, given the constraints imposed by the model and its changing perception by the public and the profession.
But yeah who know.

"Worked for them in the past" You mean the time when the only successful superhero franchise they had was the Nolan Batman movies and they botched Superman with Superman Returns, and botched things with Green Lantern, and gave us a ****ty Jonah Hex movie, not mention that Halle Berry Catwoman movie.

I think some people romanticize the "pre-MCU era" of comic book movies way too much.

Oh believe me, I'm not romanticizing anything. Whether it's before or after the MCU (which I admit only seeing half of its movies by now), I still consider the superheroic genre in films as mostly average. But sometimes there can be happy accidents. Fortunately for me, it's mostly with Batman.

Obviously, when I talk about the past, I think of Burton, Nolan and now Reeves. If we have movies like Jonah Hex or Pitof's Catwoman, the problem, to me, is less from letting directors do what they want than greenlighting weak/bad projects whose flaws should have been detected earlier in the process. Which is still a problem today, by the way...

My point is simply that I still believe letting a director come up with a genuine idea for an adaptation is more likely to be interesting than things concocted by producers which, most of the time, ended being directed by glorified yes-men (even if again, I recognize this not obligatory means "bad" films but...).
Here, you could say I have somewhat of a romantic view of things.

Of course, I understand people not agreeing with all of this, especially if they really love the genre as it is for the last decade and so. It's just my opinion on it.
I still think it's possible that Gunn has mapped out a series of films that leave plenty of room for the directors to grow. He's a creative so I guess he can find the right balance and I sincerely hope some quality creative people will join him
Ultimately, I want to believe in that project... But after those last years, who could blame me for being a little cautious when it comes to DC films under Warner?

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Aronofsky's work has always been massively influenced by comic books and he clearly has harbored some desire to do one of these movies over the years. He'd be great at it, I don't think Aronofsky's straight dramas are always effective because his style is so overwrought and melodramatic but when he does fantasy stuff like The Fountain or Noah he clicks for me.

I don't see him doing this though. We don't know exactly how these movies are gonna work but it does sound like there's already a relatively solid, mapped out concept for it and a guy like Aronofsky probably isn't going to be attracted to having to colour within the lines.

 

[Invader Joker]

Aronofsky's work has always been massively influenced by comic books and he clearly has harbored some desire to do one of these movies over the years. He'd be great at it, I don't think Aronofsky's straight dramas are always effective because his style is so overwrought and melodramatic but when he does fantasy stuff like The Fountain or Noah he clicks for me.

I don't see him doing this though. We don't know exactly how these movies are gonna work but it does sound like there's already a relatively solid, mapped out concept for it and a guy like Aronofsky probably isn't going to be attracted to having to colour within the lines.

Maaaybe but then again he seemed perfectly fine with using The Wolverine script that was presumably the one they also ended up using in the final film and that was set up by Fox.
He's also in this bizarre point of his career because he's like, yeah a really prestige director and all that, but his latest movies have been so divisive and not gotten the awards traction one would think a guy like him would want (He got flat-out ignored for The Whale even tho Fraser won, Hong Chau got nominated and makeup won), that maybe doing a big blockbuster like this would go a long way towards helping him a lot to kinda showcase a different, more commercial side of him. Especially because, from what I know of him, he does seem kinda hurt that some of his films have turned out as loathed by some people as they have since he generally means well.


Boong Joon-Ho is interesting to consider as well.
At first glance he seems like he wouldn't be interested but he also seems like the person that'd have a revelation if he read on Grant Morrison and he also seems like the person that'd be attracted to the concept of "child assassin". Also seems like the person that'd befriend James Gunn if they ever sat down and talked.

Really when you think of Brave and the Bold it's kinda interesting because like, at first glance one could dismiss it as "yeah yeah this is gonna be an mcu-like batman" but from the plot we already know it's kinda already not? Sure it's in a connected universe but the whole concept of Damian Wayne is not something that Feige would ever wanna adapt like that, and the whole thing is actually inherently risky in ways that most superhero movies really aren't. In fact one could argue that pulling off a film like this is a riskier proposition than even something like The Batman, which is probably a turn-off for a lot of directors but might be an attraction point for some interesting ones like Aronfosky or Boong Joon. I'd at least hope Gunn and Safran have enough foresight to set up a meeting and see what comes of it; you never know.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Maaaybe but then again he seemed perfectly fine with using The Wolverine script that was presumably the one they also ended up using in the final film and that was set up by Fox.
He's also in this bizarre point of his career because he's like, yeah a really prestige director and all that, but his latest movies have been so divisive and not gotten the awards traction one would think a guy like him would want, that maybe doing a big blockbuster like this would go a long way towards helping him a lot to kinda showcase a different, more commercial side of him. Especially because, from what I know of him, he does seem kinda hurt that some of his films have turned out as loathed by some people as they have since he generally means well.


Boong Joon-Ho is interesting to consider as well.
At first glance he seems like he wouldn't be interested but he also seems like the person that'd have a revelation if he read on Grant Morrison and he also seems like the person that'd be attracted to the concept of "child assassin". Also seems like the person that'd befriend James Gunn if they ever sat down and talked.

Really when you think of Brave and the Bold it's kinda interesting because like, at first glance one could dismiss it as "yeah yeah this is gonna be an mcu-like batman" but from the plot we already know it's kinda already not? Sure it's in a connected universe but the whole concept of Damian Wayne is not something that Feige would ever wanna adapt like that, and the whole thing is actually inherently risky in ways that most superhero movies really aren't. In fact one could argue that pulling off a film like this is a riskier proposition than even something like The Batman, which is probably a turn-off for a lot of directors but might be an attraction point for some interesting ones like Aronfosky or Boong Joon. I'd at least hope Gunn and Safran have enough foresight to set up a meeting and see what comes of it; you never know.

Again, I think Bong Joo-ho is way too much of a name auteur for this but looking at South Korea for a director is a pretty inspired idea. I have wanted a Batman movie with heavy Park Chanwook vibes for over a decade now.

I don't feel like it is gonna be a straight up MCU style Batman either. Directors potentially will have more leeway than they do in the MCU but we just don't know exactly how these movies are gonna be done yet. Is there gonna be a script and then a director hired to make it happen? Is it just a broad concept that whoever they hire gets to built around provided it hits certain beats?

It sounds riskier on paper than it actually will be tbh, I really doubt that this movie will be tackling any of the complex or challenging thematic stuff of Morrison's work. Not saying it's gonna be a comedy or there won't be any dramatic heft to it but a more comic booky take on the character built heavily around an inherently somewhat comedic character dynamic - Batman and an angry, murderous literal child - doesn't sound like a hard sell. Everything about this project tells me it'll be more colourful, fun and have a lot more humor which is a lot more marketable than a pretty miserable three hour epic with an intentionally distant and off-putting lead.

 

[Invader Joker]

Again, I think Bong Joo-ho is way too much of a name auteur for this but looking at South Korea for a director is a pretty inspired idea. I have wanted a Batman movie with heavy Park Chanwook vibes for over a decade now.

I don't feel like it is gonna be a straight up MCU style Batman either. Directors potentially will have more leeway than they do in the MCU but we just don't know exactly how these movies are gonna be done yet. Is there gonna be a script and then a director hired to make it happen? Is it just a broad concept that whoever they hire gets to built around provided it hits certain beats?

It kinda seems from what Gunn has said that it'll be a mix of both depending on the project. Mangold seems to be developing Swamp Thing from the ground-up based on a pitch he's had for years, while Authority is having a full script written first overseen by Gunn. Although even if these things have a full script finished first it doesn't immediately rule out someone like Aronofsky since, again, he was perfectly fine with doing The Wolverine. I think he considered Man of Steel too, wouldn't he?

It sounds riskier on paper than it actually will be tbh, I really doubt that this movie will be tackling any of the complex or challenging thematic stuff of Morrison's work. Not saying it's gonna be a comedy or there won't be any dramatic heft to it but a more comic booky take on the character built heavily around an inherently somewhat comedic character dynamic, Batman and an angry, murderous literal child, doesn't sound like a hard sell. Everything about this project tells me it'll be more colourful, fun and have a lot more humor which is a lot more marketable than a pretty miserable three hour epic with an intentionally distant and off-putting lead.

I mean, I kinda think you're underselling it because there's a reason that directors have for decades avoided doing the concept of Robin; it was because they think he's too complicated to adapt into film and I think for good reason. In animation it's the easiest sell of all time, but in live action, because of the expectations of films like this and because of the expectations of the Batman franchise in general, it's a lot harder. I also think that Brave and the Bold seems like waaay of a less obvious concept to do for a Batman movie than Reeves Batman did; because as much as I absolutely love the movie, Batman + Se7en isn't exactly the most unexpected direction for the franchise to have went after Nolan.

And maybe a comic-booky Batman with Robin inherently isn't... but Damian Wayne is. He's a gigantic curveball to throw into this; one that many Batman fans (including me) thought would never be seen in live action. And while there is a version of this film that's probably very standard MCU-like fair, there are probably several versions that aren't and that could be a bit more complex, unique and interesting.

I will say that based on his comments Gunn seems keenly aware of the fact that the superhero genre can't afford to keep having average to mediocre or predictable films anymore. He talked very openly against a lot of those cliches in his DC press event, and he also spoke against them when making The Suicide Squad, so I'd think he probably wants to avoid them here as well. With his favorite character in DC being Batman, he's probably keenly aware of the fact that the franchise has a reputation for being more than just "average" in the realm of superhero movies, and he may want to take a big swing into making this the most unique version of what it could be. I can't imagine that he'd want Brave and the Bold to be seen as the "generic superhero stepchild" of Batman films.

I'd hope that he at least sets up a meeting with Aronofsky or Boong Joon-Ho, worst thing that can happen is they say "no", but it's worth the try. I'm just hoping he doesn't go the easy route of just hiring someone like Muschietti who is probably salivating to get this and yet would probably have nothing remarkable to offer to the franchise, without first exhausting all other options.

 

[Invader Joker]

Pipe WBD/DC Studios dreams (If they want it they'll get it):
-Bong Joon-Ho (Snowpiercer, Parasite)
-Dennis Villenueve (Prisoners, Dune)
-Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Noah, Mother)
-Joseph Kosinski (Tron, Top Gun Maverick)
-Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty)
-Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, upcoming Mufasa Disney film)
-Adam McKay (Anchorman 1 and 2, Vice)
-Aaron Sorkin (Molly's Game, Trial of the Chicago 7)
-Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, Mission Impossible: Fallout)
-Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood, Phantom Thread)

Would have to battle amongst themselves during the pitching process:
-Andy Muschietti (IT Part 1 and 2, The Flash)
-Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator Dark Fate)
-Brad Bird (Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, Incredibles)
-Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Baby Driver)
-David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train)
-Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids, Alita)
-Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class, Kingsman movies)
-Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey)
-Zach Cregger (Barbarian)
-Kogonada (After Yang)
-Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)
-Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic)
-J.C Chandor (A Most Violent Year, Triple Frontier)
-Ilya Naishuller (Nobody)
-Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee)
-Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, Rango)
-Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room, Hold the Dark)
-Gareth Evans (The Raid)
-Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One)
-Adam Wingard (The Guest, Godzilla vs. Kong)
-Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island)
-Nic Pizzolatto (True Detective)
-Mark Mylod (The Menu)

They'll get them if all else fails:
-Chris McKay (LEGO Batman, Tomorrow War)
-Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man trilogy, Multiverse of Madness)
-Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Aladdin)
-Russo Brothers (Winter Soldier, Civil War)

 

[Eddie Dean]

None of those directors will helm this movie.

 

[Invader Joker]

None of those directors will helm this movie.

Who then?

 

[Eddie Dean]

Chris McKay

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Pipe WBD/DC Studios dreams (If they want it they'll get it):
-Boong Jong-Hoo (Snowpiercer, Parasite)
-Dennis Villenueve (Prisoners, Dune)
-Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Noah, Mother)
-Joseph Kosinski (Tron, Top Gun Maverick)

Would have to battle amongst themselves during the pitching process:
-Andy Muschietti (IT Part 1 and 2, The Flash)
-Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator Dark Fate)
-Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class, Kingsman movies)
-Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey)
-Zach Cregger (Barbarian)
-Kogonada (After Yang)
-Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)
-Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic)
-J.C Chandor (A Most Violent Year, Triple Frontier)
-Ilya Naishuller (Nobody)
-Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee)
-Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, Rango)
-Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room, Hold the Dark)
-Gareth Evans (The Raid)
-Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One)
-Adam Vingard (The Guest, Godzilla vs. Kong)
-Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island)


They'll get them if all else fails:
-Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man trilogy, Multiverse of Madness)
-Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Aladdin)
-Russo Brothers (Winter Soldier, Civil War)

Kogonada directing a Batman movie seems… unlikely.

 

[Invader Joker]

Chris McKay

I don't really see how he's more likely than most of the people I posted there. I'd agree he seems more likely than the pipe dream picks, but I'm really hard-pressed to think any scenario where he'd be more likely than Raimi, Muschietti, Trachtenberg, Cregger, Travis Knight, etc... especially considering his debut on making a live-action movie was critically panned and Renfield seems like it'll be a disaster as well.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Dude - Lego Batman - was going to direct Nightwing

 

[Invader Joker]

Kogonada directing a Batman movie seems… unlikely.

I wouldn't have included him if not for the fact he's directing an Star Wars spin-off episode. Granted, that may still not mean nothing in regards to him wanting to jump on doing a blockbuster, but who knows?

 

[Invader Joker]

Dude - Lego Batman - was going to direct Nightwing

Yeah, LEGO Batman, an animated movie. And a a Nightwing movie that got scrapped. I agree that maybe they'd consider him but I still don't see how he's more likely than the other names I mentioned, especially when it seems that all his live-action attempts have been stinkers.

 

[Eddie Dean]

How do you know that about Reinfeld after one trailer?

 

[Invader Joker]

'Parasite: Bong Joon Ho on Year's Most Unexpected Hit, Marvel Debate - Variety

Bong: I have so much respect for Scorsese and Coppola, and I grew up studying their films. So I fully understand the context of their comments and I respect their opinion. But on the other hand, if I look at the films individually, I enjoyed “Guardians of the Galaxy,” James Mangold’s “Logan” and “Winter Soldier” by the Russo Brothers. There are great cinematic moments in those films.

He gave another answer regarding if he'd direct a superhero movie saying he doesn't like skin-tight suits but that was obviously a joke.
Maybe he's not as far-fetched as one would think depending on how Gunn is handling things here and the amount of creative control he actually intends to give his directors. If he's honest with putting the creatives vision first unlike Marvel, and manages to sell him on the pitch of this movie (which I believe that maybe he'd be able to) someone like Bong Joon Ho could be persuaded. I'd love for him to try at least.