James Gunn and Peter Safran have officially kickstarted a new and cohesive DC Universe of films that will, hopefully, finally bring connectivity to the franchise across multiple platforms. That said, this also means that the franchises of the past will either be altered or completely revamped. This includes a new Superman movie and a new Batman movie titled The Brave and the Bold. But with a new series tied to a budding universe, this also means a fresh batch of rumors, and one, in particular, ties The Flash director Andy Muschietti to the new Batman franchise.
The Brave and the Bold will follow a slightly younger Bruce Wayne than Ben Affleck's version that's been Batman long enough to establish the Bat-family, as well as introduce his son, Damian Wayne. However, while the basic plot has been explained, there's still a question over who will helm the DCU movie and who will play The Dark Knight. With recent rumors that Muschietti will take on directorial duties, the answer to who could be Batman may tie to a face from the movie that got Muschietti the IT franchise: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Mama.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Past Projects Capture Batman's Best Quality
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is an actor who starred in various genre films but truly made a name for himself as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones. In that series, audiences could see the range that Coster-Waldau had being both a cocky knight that would plot and scheme to a more humbled individual who relied solely on his qualities as a knight. However, in Muchietti's movie Mama, Coster-Waldau played a surrogate father to two young girls after his twin brother died, and the two girls were raised by a ghost. Ironically, both of these stories explored unique styles of fatherhood needed to be a good Bruce Wayne in the DCU.
In Mama, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau showed the importance of patience in getting to understand adopted children, the same as how Bruce had to understand raising a child like Dick Grayson. However, Game of Thrones saw the regret of having lost time with the children he had while in his questionable relationship with his lover and sister, Cersei. In that series, audiences saw his regret and failure in not being a good father and how he wanted to be more. But both projects allowed Coster-Waldau to capture the bravery needed to deal with such challenging tasks. While all Batman movies have explored the hero's psyche, the DCU's The Brave and the Bold could explore the rigors of fatherhood, with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau bringing that to life.
The DCU's Batman Must Master Fatherhood To Stand Apart
With Andy Muschietti behind the camera of The Brave and the Bold, his history with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau could allow for the two to collaborate more than ever and turn the DCU film, like Mama, into a story about family. Coster-Waldau has the stature, demeanor and acting chops to bring Batman's most iconic qualities to life, but he also has the patience and understanding of a father to show a version of Batman that's focused on more than his war on crime. During an era where three cinematic Batmen have appeared in less than 20 years, this could be the key to setting this iteration apart from the others.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has shown in films like The Silencing that he can play a calculating character akin to Bruce Wayne, while his role as Jaime Lannister shows how he could bring the playboy persona to life. However, movies like Mama prove he's ready to be an iteration of The Caped Crusader that fights not just for Gotham City but also to keep his family safe and would finally give an underrated actor his time to show it to an even wider audience.