James Gunn Reveals Three Things the New DCU Batman Will Have (And What Fans Think They Want)

Though James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU was always going to start with Superman, a key component of the larger DC mythology was always waiting in the wings. The first wave of DCU projects that was announced included a slew of titles that would be on the way, among them, The Brave and the Bold, a brand new Batman movie that would finally bring the larger Bat-family to the big screen. There’s just one problem though: Matt Reeves’ 2021 hit The Batman was already prepping a sequel and a spinoff ahead of Gunn’s takeover at DC studios. As a result, the DCU’s version of the Caped Crusader has seemingly been pushed back.

Despite this, the DCU continues to flirt with the arrival of the character. Last year’s animated TV series, Creature Commandos, did technically have Batman make his DCU debut, though it’s unclear how much of what we saw in that show will be carried over to the feature film. Beyond that, Superman even had a tease for Batman with a hint of Gotham City’s place in the DCU. Now, James Gunn has taken to social media to open up a little more about how Batman will work in the DCU and the three things that actually matter for the character moving forward.

Read Next

James Gunn Is Already Getting the DCU’s Batman Right (& It’s Not What Fans Are Talking About)

James Gunn Reveals Three Most Important Things for DCU’s Batman

On Threads, a DC fan asked Gunn about the upcoming Batman movie and how fans really want to see the signature “white eyes” of the character’s mask in action (a detail that, despite his many movies, has only ever been seen in The Dark Knight and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for fleeting moments). Gunn noted that many fans want that detail, along with a few other things fans want, but used that as an instance to denote the things that are actually important to the DCU’s Batman.

“The most requested thing would be the blue and grey. Then the yellow around the bat. And THEN the white eyes. But all of those things I find less important than the character himself, the writing, and the person who plays him,” Gunn wrote. “Individuals are making clear what they want to see. But even the most requested thing – the blue and grey – is split evenly with people who don’t want that. And the other two most requested things are also things just as many people say they don’t want to see. So you have to do what’s right by the specific film and story.”

Though Gunn has already made an entire Superman movie with a follow-up on the way, Batman may very well be the DC hero he has to talk about the most online. Previously, the co-president of DC Studios addressed the potential for casting the character by noting that, despite having ideas about who could play the role, his plans may totally change once he does a screen test with the right actor.

Gunn’s response about what the DCU’s Batman needs to focus on is just further proof that he remains one of the best creatives for the job of leading DC Studios. It’s one thing to have thoughts and feelings about the aesthetic of the Dark Knight on the big screen, but none of those things will matter if the actor playing the role isn’t the right fit, and the writing itself doesn’t connect with audiences. Considering the decades of Batman movies that have come before, this is already a high benchmark, and now it comes paired with Gunn’s already high standards.

Since he took the job at DC, Gunn has maintained that no movie will be greenlit at DC Studios if the script isn’t right, even teasing a project that was ready to go at Warner Bros. that he “killed” because the writing just wasn’t there. Fans remain hopeful that the DCU’s Batman will arrive sooner rather than later, but the one thing they can all hold onto is that when he does make it to the big screen it will no doubt be the best version they could have made.