DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran recently released a huge slate of upcoming DC Universe projects, including a new Batman film, The Brave and the Bold. The film will focus on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his son Damian. Inspired by comic writers like Grant Morrison and Tom King, The Brave and the Bold will take place much further into Batman's career than Matt Reeves' The Batman.
Gunn and Safran have confirmed that The Batman will exist as an Elseworlds property and won't be part of the DCU. However, even existing in different universes, this sets a new precedent for DC, which has always tried its best to avoid having two live-action iterations of Batman at one time. Luckily, there seems to be a deliberate effort to make The Brave and the Bold's version of The Dark Knight very hard to confuse with Robert Pattinson's version of the character.
The Brave and the Bold Will Be Very Different From The Batman
The version of Bruce Wayne from The Batman is just at the beginning of his heroic journey. In fact, it could even be argued that he doesn't start truly being a hero until the end of the film. Pattinson's young and often violent version of The Caped Crusader will be very different from the more mature version fans will see in The Brave and the Bold. With Gunn and Safran taking a page out of Morrison's "Batman and Son" comic book storyline, fans can expect a slightly softer and more mature version of Batman. The DCU's Batman will also have an established support system in the form of the Bat Family.
The Brave and the Bold's Batman won't just stand out from The Batman, but he will be unlike any other film version of the character so far. Even though Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, and Batman v. Superman gave audiences a Batman who was currently working or had worked with a Robin, none of those versions really focused on Bruce's role as a parent. The film will also be the first to introduce a live-action version of Damian Wayne, introducing film audiences to a very different Robin than they're used to. Presenting such a different take on the character than Matt Reeves will make it easy for audiences to separate the two versions of Batman.
Gunn and Safran Solved DC's Fear of Having Two Batmen
In the past, DC has shied away from having multiple versions of Batman at once. Titans tried to use their version of Bruce more sparingly, and apart from an alternate universe version played by Kevin Conroy, the Arrowverse's Batman never appeared in person. This was likely to avoid fans feeling burned out by overexposure to the character. Luckily, Peter Safran and James Gunn have found a good solution to that issue. Because The Batman Part II and The Brave and the Bold will be telling such radically different Batman stories, audiences won't mind going to see both.
Fans will have to wait a while to see if Gunn and Safran's two Batman gamble pays off, with the first DCU movie not hitting theaters until 2025. However, it is clear that the DC execs have faith in both projects as The Batman is one of the few existing franchises that will continue as an Elseworlds property. If fans want an idea of what to expect from the film, they can check out some of the comics that have inspired the film. The "Batman and Son" storyline by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, Dave Stewart, and Nick J. Napolitano runs from Batman #655 to #658. Tom King's run on Batman covered Volume 3 issues #1 to #85. While there's no way all these comics will get adapted for The Brave and the Bold, reading them can give readers an idea of what to expect from the film.