DCU Chief James Gunn Defends Batman The Brave and the Bold Screenwriter Amid Fan Concern

James Gunn has defended The Brave and the Bold screenwriter Christina Hodson amid instrumentality interest pursuing quality she volition constitute the DC Universe’s Batman movie.

Last week, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Christina Hodson was penning The Brave and the Bold, which volition beryllium the archetypal Batman movie successful James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. Hodson is champion known for penning 2018’s Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, 2020 DCEU movie Birds of Prey, and 2023’s ill-fated The Flash. She besides wrote the infamous Batgirl movie Warner Bros. canceled aft it was acceptable for release.

The backlash has a fig of components to it, 1 of which is The Flash itself. 2023 superhero movie The Flash, starring Ezra Miller, was a captious and commercialized flop, pulling successful conscionable $271 cardinal worldwide during its theatrical run. Both it and the full DCEU are present defunct.

Gunn responded to 1 idiosyncratic connected societal media who said Hodson was getting “unjust hatred,” suggesting The Flash fans saw successful theaters wasn’t The Flash Hodson outlined successful her screenplay.

“I volition lone accidental anyone maligning Christina Hodson's screenwriting skills has astir surely ne'er work an existent screenplay by Christina Hodson — she's 1 of the writers who was with america aboriginal successful the DCU readying stages,” Gunn said. “I don't deliberation you tin justice my penning based connected films others directed, arsenic monolithic liberties are sometimes taken.”

In October, The Flash manager Andy Muschietti defended his container bureau bomb, insisting radical “like to speech s***” astir films they haven’t seen. In an interrogation with The Playlist to beforehand IT prequel bid Welcome To Derry, Muschietti insisted The Flash was a bully movie, and immoderate of the disapproval it suffered came from radical who hadn’t adjacent seen it.

“A batch of radical did not spot it,” helium said. “But you cognize however things are these days — radical don’t spot things, but they similar to speech s*** astir it, and they similar to leap connected bandwagons. They don’t truly know. People are aggravated for reasons that are unrelated to these things.”

Muschietti past acknowledged the interaction of Ezra Miller’s off-screen controversies connected the movie. “Of course, we had a publicity situation with Ezra that is undeniable,” helium said. “And I’m not questioning that. But yeah, we emotion the movie. And actually, we truly urge it.”

He continued: “And again, we emotion the movie. We, you know, we gave it our blood, sweat, and tears each the mode to the end. And I watched it, similar a week ago, and loved it again.”

In January past year, Muschietti said The Flash failed astatine the container bureau due to the fact that "a batch of radical conscionable don’t attraction astir the Flash arsenic a character."

Muschietti said the movie failed to entreaty to "the 4 quadrants" — a movie manufacture word meaning to entreaty to everyone — capable to warrant its $200 cardinal budget.

"The Flash failed, among each the different reasons, due to the fact that it wasn’t a movie that appealed to each 4 quadrants. It failed astatine that," Muschietti said. "When you walk $200 cardinal making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring adjacent your grandma to the theaters.

"I’ve recovered successful backstage conversations that a batch of radical conscionable don’t attraction astir the Flash arsenic a character. Particularly the 2 pistillate quadrants. All of that is conscionable the upwind going against the movie I’ve learned."

The 4 quadrants, arsenic defined by Hollywood, are males nether 25, males implicit 25, females nether 25, and females implicit 25.

Christina Hodson is acceptable to constitute The Brave and the Bold. Photo by Neil Mockford/GC Images.

As for The Brave and the Bold, Hodson whitethorn beryllium acceptable to reunite with Muschietti, who THR said remains connected committee the movie but whose engagement is not acceptable successful chromatic fixed his commitments to Welcome to Derry Season 2. Either way, it sounds similar The Brave and the Bold is immoderate mode away. THR said “it would beryllium immoderate clip earlier a definitive draught comes successful arsenic the workplace is taking a measured attack to its development.”

Gunn indispensable navigate adjacent year’s merchandise of The Batman 2 and perchance The Batman 3. The Batman 2, starring Robert Pattinson successful the rubric role, is acceptable to motorboat five-and-a-half years aft The Batman, connected October 1, 2027. Writer-director Matt Reeves has said helium acceptable retired to marque a trilogy of Batman films arsenic portion of his Batman Epic Crime Saga, and arsenic of 2024 that program was inactive on. The Batman films beryllium successful a beingness abstracted to the ongoing DCU, and fixed Gunn has ruled retired Pattinson’s Batman crossing over, we’re acceptable for a caller histrion to play the Caped Crusader for The Brave and the Bold.

Last week, Gunn suggested fans won’t get an update connected The Brave and the Bold until aft The Batman 2 comes out, truthful we’re astir apt looking astatine 2028 astatine the earliest for news. “I'm babelike connected erstwhile there's an actionable publication acceptable truthful determination is nary mode of maine guessing this,” helium said. “Also, frankly, we're good into Batman 2, and I wouldn't privation to unreality the Batsphere until aft that.”

Gunn past committed to ne'er releasing 2 Batman movies successful the aforesaid year. “I deliberation some Batman and WW [Wonder Woman] are incredibly important,” helium said successful effect to different fan. “But I'm besides not going to person 2 Batman movies travel retired successful the aforesaid year.”

Gunn, meanwhile, is teasing… thing perchance related to Martian Manhunter, who fans fishy volition crook up successful adjacent year’s Man of Tomorrow.

Image credit: HBO Max.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].