The Brave and the Bold News and Discussion Thread

[TheGDBatman]

Bet: Movie is repurposed as a Bat Family movie called Caped Crusaders.

Hope: it’s being reworked as a Bat Family movie because Reeves is using Robin.

 

[J.Drangal]

“Rework” is quite an understatement. I mean, if you plan to introduce Damian, the “son of Batman”, that's the whole heart of your project right here, it's a strong concept.
To consider now that the character might no longer be present—whether in favor of another Robin, the Bat-Family, or whatever-is-next—is to basically be saying that the originally intended movie has been scrapped... In any case, that's my understanding.

I am by no means a “merger fanatic,” but it's pretty clear that things are more or less in “wait-and-see” mode regarding Batman and that some doors may not be completely closed...

We are truly in the Schroedinger Batman era.

 

[donuts]

I'm pretty sure that they are NOT gonna merge. Projects evolve. There was Darren Aronofsky's Batman Year One before there was a Batman Begins. There was a Ben Affleck's The Batman before there was Matt Reeves'. That's part of the creative process. Let them cook.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

“Rework” is quite an understatement. I mean, if you plan to introduce Damian, the “son of Batman”, that's the whole heart of your project right here, it's a strong concept.
To consider now that the character might no longer be present—whether in favor of another Robin, the Bat-Family, or whatever-is-next—is to basically be saying that the originally intended movie has been scrapped... In any case, that's my understanding.

I am by no means a “merger fanatic,” but it's pretty clear that things are more or less in “wait-and-see” mode regarding Batman and that some doors may not be completely closed...

We are truly in the Schroedinger Batman era.

Gunn provided some further details on Threads. It sounds like Damian's still in the mix, although how and when he'll be introduced has yet to be determined.

 

[J.Drangal]

I'm pretty sure that they are NOT gonna merge. Projects evolve. There was Darren Aronofsky's Batman Year One before there was a Batman Begins. There was a Ben Affleck's The Batman before there was Matt Reeves'. That's part of the creative process. Let them cook.

Oh yes, but all these projects were the work of people completely different from one another. What I meant in my post was that Gunn would more or less reveal that he hasn't yet found the angle from which to make “his” Batman, and that the initial idea may not have evolved, but been completely rethought.
But this is more a discussion about terminology than anything else, and I'm speaking in the conditional tense since it seems that Gunn has already corrected his statement anyway... It's hard to keep up with this guy, someone should cut off his internet subscription!

Otherwise, I don't think the merger will happen either... but I can imagine it still being discussed behind the scenes. I believe Gunn definitely wants to put his own spin on his favorite character, but for now, he's at the mercy of timing and potential constraints from higher-ups, who may still be evaluating market health and possibilities (i.e., will The Batman Part II be a mastodon, and then advise accordingly).

 

[BobJM]

Maybe Heretic is the League of Assassins’ heavy, and we don’t meet Damian until much later in the film (or maybe even a tease for the sequel).

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I am guessing the complications come from how old Gunn wants Bruce to be, and how big the Bat Family is to start with. Does he want to introduce Damian before Jason Todd or Tim Drake have even showed up? And if they already exist and have been Robin in the past, how old does that make Bruce?

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Dick being Nightwing and Jason being dead feels like the most natural starting point? But then you also maybe want another active Robin around like Tim in Batman & Son, if you're adapting some beats of it fairly literally? I love Tim and a big Bat family but I do wonder if it could easily get unwieldy. When you get to the point the movie has to stop dead in its tracks to explain the history too much you have a problem.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

If they hold off on Damian I will be relieved. Felt like too much too soon. Love the character and the Bat family but they should work their way towards that, don’t just start at that point

 

[Nemeres]

The whole appeal of Brave and the Bold to me is that it's a Batman & Robin movie, with Damian as Robin - the least controversial one, because it's Bruce's own kid who was already trained as an assassin/warrior. If a concern was skipping over Dick, Jason and Tim and fast-forwarding to an older dad Batman, that would have been fine because they would have never covered all of that history anyway in a film series. Another plus was that it's partly an adaptation of Grant Morrison's run.

That whole list of pluses gets a bit diluted if you make it a Batfamily film instead. A Batman and Damian film was a solid, novel concept. Hope they don't abandon it.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I still just wish they would start with Bruce meeting and training Dick Grayson. We’ve only gotten that story in a movie once and it sucked. They could redeem it instead of jumping all the way to Damien. To be fair, I have no connection to Damien (never read any comics with him) so I have no desire to see his story adapted. But it just feels like a missed opportunity to skip all the potential stories for Dick, Jason and Tim. On the other hand, I’ll likely still be happy as long as Njghtwing gets his due. I’m 50/50 on Red Hood just because I feel like that story doesn’t have much weight if you skipped everything (his death and resurrection).

 

[Primal Slayer]

I still just wish they would start with Bruce meeting and training Dick Grayson. We’ve only gotten that story in a movie once and it sucked. They could redeem it instead of jumping all the way to Damien. To be fair, I have no connection to Damien (never read any comics with him) so I have no desire to see his story adapted. But it just feels like a missed opportunity to skip all the potential stories for Dick, Jason and Tim. On the other hand, I’ll likely still be happy as long as Njghtwing gets his due. I’m 50/50 on Red Hood just because I feel like that story doesn’t have much weight if you skipped everything (his death and resurrection).

Exactly. So much of the Batfam formation has never been told in live action. Skipping all the way to the end never made sense to me.

The easiest thing that we should be able to see the growth in....they dont want to do. I want DIck as Robin and then progress to Nightwing. Bring in Jason and kill him off. Give me Barbara as Batgirl.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Exactly. So much of the Batfam formation has never been told in live action. Skipping all the way to the end never made sense to me.

The easiest thing that we should be able to see the growth in....they dont want to do. I want DIck as Robin and then progress to Nightwing. Bring in Jason and kill him off. Give me Barbara as Batgirl.

Yeah it almost seems like a no-brainer. It’s frustrating that we will have now had two DC universes in a row that skipped over this. I’ve heard they may be going this route because Reeves wants to introduce Dick in his trilogy but I’m not sure if that’s true, especially after the whole Sneider debacle from a few months back. Honestly, doing Dick’s story feels like a much better fit for a shared DCU than a self-contained Batverse.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Both are perfectly fine ideas. Dick and Damian are the logical choices to start with - you either start at the formation or at the very end when everyone is fully established. Either works.

 

[Pennywise]

 

[BobJM]

Introduce Dick as Nightwing in Brave and the Bold, then explore his origins (and Jason’s) in Dynamic Duo.

Alfred, Batman, Nightwing, (Jason’s dead), and Damian.

And the DCU should give Batgirl another shot as a solo film. Killer Moth and all.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Nightwing/Dick Grayson: Taylor Zakhar Perez

Red Hood/Jason Todd: Austin Abrams

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

I know it’s very obvious and he likely wouldn't do it, but if Chalamet as Nightwing is a possibility, Gunn should go for it. Similarly, Schumacher spoke with Leo about Robin in Forever, and he turned it down. But there was at least a conversation!

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I know it’s very obvious and he likely wouldn't do it, but if Chalamet as Nightwing is a possibility, Gunn should go for it. Similarly, Schumacher spoke with Leo about Robin in Forever, and he turned it down. But there was at least a conversation!

Gunn absolutely does not have that level of casting ambition, regrettably. Chalamet is obviously pointedly avoiding franchise stuff outside of his own with Dune but I can imagine him being a villain in some far flung future Bat franchise later in his career.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

Yeah it almost seems like a no-brainer. It’s frustrating that we will have now had two DC universes in a row that skipped over this. I’ve heard they may be going this route because Reeves wants to introduce Dick in his trilogy but I’m not sure if that’s true, especially after the whole Sneider debacle from a few months back. Honestly, doing Dick’s story feels like a much better fit for a shared DCU than a self-contained Batverse.

Agreed, here. I'd rather have Dick Grayson/Robin in this Batman. I'd love to see that played out, and I think Robin would be...I guess the term I think of is 'wasted' in the style of Reeves' series. I think Robin makes a lot more sense in a Batman universe where we have all the fantastical, more colourful elements.

Like, I don't want to see a muted Robin costume to fit alongside Reeves' Batman. I want red and green, unapologetically.

I'm also not a fan of Damian, so I have to root for earlier Robin even though I know it's unlikely.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Reeves gets Dick and Gunn gets Damian would make a lot of sense to me creatively. Reeves is wildly better suited to the emotional core of the Dick Grayson story. I’m going to absolutely despise Gunn’s take on Damian, I think he’s uniquely ill suited to it and it’ll just feel like PG13 Kick Ass, but I also get why his dramatic instincts took him there.