DC fans are starving… despite the fact that they are getting a steady stream of quality entertainment, and have for years. Top DC projects typically fall near the top of our lists whenever we rattle off the best Marvel and DC movies of the year. And Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie a Deux easily ranks as one of the most anticipated upcoming 2024 movies heading toward theaters. But even as James Gunn and Peter Safran toil away on their new Superman movie, and confirm that the animated Creature Commandos is reaching the Max service in December, DC fans want more. They crave information, and even misinformation.
One of the announced projects that’s getting an inordinate amount of attention is The Brave and the Bold, a Batman project in the DCU that will explore (for the first time in live action) Bruce Wayne’s relationship with his son, Damian Wayne. Damian’s a maniacal little assassin, having been raised by the League of Shadows, so his dynamic with Batman will be interesting. Since the earliest days, The Flash director Andy Muschietti has been attached to The Brave and the Bold. This was even confirmed on June 20 in a Deadline article about the upcoming Max series The Penguin.
But all it takes is one podcast to mention that they heard Andy Muschietti is out on The Brave and the Bold for the rumor mill to begin turning. ComicBookMovie covers a statement made on The Hot Mic that they heard The Flash director will not be in the chair for the DCU’s Batman movie, and that WB just hasn’t made it official yet.
Maybe? Who’s the source? Deadline is a trade. They report that Muschietti’s still attached. The Hot Mic says they heard differently. Pick your poison. None of this really hold much weight, in my opinion, because The Brave and the Bold is so far down the chain of command at DC at the moment, I’m willing to bet that James Gunn hasn’t given it a second thought. For one thing, he’s knee deep in both Superman and the just-started Peacemaker Season 2, which he wrote but will pass off directing duties (on most of the episodes).
Beyond Peacemaker, the DCU seems poised to move forward on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, an adaptation of Tom King’s acclaimed run of comics. We already know that Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) has been cast in the role of Kara Zor-El, and expect her to make her first appearance in Gunn’s Superman.
We also have heard solid developments on both Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II (which isn’t reaching theaters until 2026) and the Max original series Lanterns, a story akin to True Detectives that will focus on iconic Green Lantern Corps members Hal Jordan and John Stewart. If all of those projects are happening ahead of The Brave and the Bold, would we really know for sure if Andy Muschietti were still attached? Heck, he could break off and direct two mid-budget horror movies before he had to be back to helm the DCU’s Batman installment.
When The Flash came out, James Gunn fell all over himself to praise the director’s work, saying on the record:
The Flash is fucking amazing. Like, truly, it's one of the best superhero movies I've ever seen. Andy Muschietti did an amazing job, and I'm really excited for everybody to see it.
Trust me, I understand that a lot can happen between now and whenever The Brave and the Bold heads into production. Just ask Mahershala Ali about his experiences with Blade. But I think it’s early to be believing stories about directors walking off of projects that likely are still in the prepubescent stages of development.
