Part of James Gunn’s complete retooling of the DC Universe is a movie called The Brave and the Bold that will reboot the Batman franchise on the big screen yet again. Rather than copying the more grounded approach of Matt Reeves’ The Batman series or Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, The Brave and the Bold should embrace Batman’s more fun, comic-booky side. The Brave and the Bold has plenty of opportunities to differentiate itself from The Batman and other Batman movies, from its focus on Bruce Wayne’s role as a father figure to Robin to its use of more fantastical villains like Poison Ivy and Man-Bat.
Gunn has confirmed via Twitter that Batman will be “a big part of the DCU,” which means there will be two Batman franchises running concurrently as Reeves’ The Batman series starring Robert Pattinson will continue under the DC Elseworlds label. The Brave and the Bold will need to go in a totally different creative direction to set itself apart from the Batman movie series that’s already ongoing. The details that have been revealed so far point to a very different approach. Whereas Pattinson’s Bat is a lone wolf, The Brave and the Bold movie will introduce the extended “Bat-Family.” The first film will start with Batman raising his son, Damian Wayne, who takes on the title of Robin.
The New Batman Should Ditch The Grounded Realism
Ever since Joel Schumacher’s campy Batman movies bombed with both critics and audiences, Warner Bros. has been afraid to embrace the goofier side of Batman lore. From Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy to Reeves’ ‘70s-style neo-noir vision of The Batman, the last few incarnations of the Caped Crusader on the big screen have brought Batman into the real world. The Brave and the Bold should avoid this approach, not only because it’s been done to death, but because Batman isn’t supposed to be grounded.
The more grounded and realistic a Batman story becomes, the more absurd the whole concept seems. The Dark Knight trilogy and The Batman purport to take place in the real world, but they’re still about a guy who dresses up as a bat to fight crime. The more realistic everything around Batman is, the more ridiculous his bat costume looks. Zack Snyder’s Batman existed in a heightened, stylized reality, but the tone was still dark and gritty. The Brave and the Bold needs to lighten up.
Batman Can Be A Little Bit Funny
From the Joker’s Jerry Maguire reference in The Dark Knight to the morbid “thumb drive” gag in The Batman, there have been elements of humor in recent Batman films. But those jokes are few and far between. The majority of these movies want the audience to take them seriously. But it’s okay for Batman to be a little bit silly. People like to make fun of the Adam West era, but that was a Batman who knew how to have fun. He carried around a can of Bat-Shark Repellent and uttered zany quips like, “Some days, you just can’t get rid of a bomb!” Gunn is the perfect filmmaker to bring back this forgotten aspect of the Batman character. The style of humor found in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad would be perfect for a wackier Batman movie.
Batman As A Father Figure
The main aspect that will set The Brave and the Bold apart from the other live-action Batman movies is the introduction of his son, Damian. The Brave and the Bold movie will take inspiration from Grant Morrison’s seminal Batman run, which introduced the Bat to a son he’d never met: a cold-hearted, murderous brat raised by killers. Gunn has said (via The Hollywood Reporter) that Damian is his “favorite Robin,” and that he’s “a little son of a b****.” This “very strange father-and-son story” will set The Brave and the Bold apart from both recent lone-wolf Batman movies and previous on-screen portrayals of the Dick Grayson version of Robin.
Fantastical Villains Can Make A Return
The Dark Knight has such a large and varied rogues’ gallery that the two simultaneous Batman movie franchises can split the Bat’s villains down the middle with no overlap. Reeves’ The Batman series can feature all the villains that could feasibly exist in the real world: Hush, Two-Face, Hugo Strange, etc. The Riddler in Reeves’ grounded, realistic Bat-verse is a Zodiac-style serial killer; Reeves’ Penguin is a low-level mobster; his Joker is a deranged, heavily scarred mental patient. Gunn’s Brave and the Bold series can bring back all the fantastical villains that wouldn’t fit in the world that Reeves has created: Bane, Poison Ivy, Man-Bat, etc. There are rumors flying around that The Batman Part II will feature realistic versions of Mr. Freeze and Clayface, but those characters might be better suited to the heightened, comic-booky world of The Brave and the Bold.