The new DC Universe is being built in front of our very eyes as DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran have started builing out the franchise’s first slate of programming. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe was formed as heroes started being discovered in continuity, Gunn previously teased the DCU will be much further along when it picks up. In one example, by the time fans see the DCU’s Batman, he’ll be working alongside Damian Wayne’s Robin. As such, many are expecting Nightwing and Red Hood, two previous sidekicks of the Caped Crusder, already exist in the cinematic world. In fact, some think Gunn may have accidentally confirmed one of the character’s existence within the DCU.
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Saturday afternoon, the filmmaker responded to an article listing eight characters that should appear in the franchise, saying four are guaranteed to make their way into the DCU. Included on that list were Arsenal, Vixen, Terra, Kyle Rayner, Nightwing, Jon Kent, Static, and Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl. Friday, however, Gunn shared a separate list on his Instagram, saying five of 10 have plans within the DCU. On that list was Nightwing, Martian Manhunter, Lobo, Brainiac, Deathstroke, Red Hood, Zatanna, The Court of Owls, Mister Freeze, and John Constantine.
Naturally, fans quickly recognized Nightwing made his way to both lists, causing some to believe it’s a believe it’s a near-lock that Dick Grayson appears in the DCU before too long at all. Better yet, while Gunn didn’t out-right confirm an appearance from Nightwing, he did previously say The Brave and the Bold will include other Bat-family characters other than Batman and Robin.
“This is the introduction of the DCU’s Batman…” Gunn explained at the DC Studios unveiling in January. “This is the story of Damian Wayne, who is Batman’s actual son who we didn’t know existed for the first eight to 10 years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin. He’s a little son of a bitch. He’s my favorite Robin. It’s based on the Grant Morrison comic book’s run, which is one of my favorite Batman runs, and we are putting that all together right now.”
“And this is obviously a feature film, and it’s going to feature other members of the extended ‘Bat-family’, just because we feel like they’ve been left out of the Batman stories in the theater for far too long,” Safran added.
The Brave and the Bold has yet to set a release date.
What other members of the Bat Family would you like to see in the DCU? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things DCU!
