James Gunn Says Batman Is His “Biggest Issue” In The DC Universe: “I Think I Have A Way In”

As DC Studios prepares for launch July 11, with the premiere of the James Gunn-helmed Superman, it’s looking to not tread the mistakes of competitor Marvel. As such, the DC Universe must sort its own cache of superheroes, including the Caped Crusader, which the DC Studios co-CEO calls his “biggest issue.”

In a sprawling Q&A with Rolling Stone, the Guardians of the Galaxy director discussed Matt Reeves‘ followup to the Robert Pattinson-starring The Batman, explaining how there is little chance that character could enter the DCU soon to be established by the David Corenswet-led Superman.

“It would be a consideration,” Gunn said of pulling Pattinson’s version of Bruce Wayne into the DCU. “We’d have to think about it. We’d have to think about it. It is not like we’ve never discussed it.”

Clarifying if there was a non-zero chance that would happen, he responded: “I would never say zero, because you just never know. But it’s not likely. It’s not likely at all. I’ll also say Batman Part II is not canceled. That’s the other thing I hear all the time — that Batman Part II is canceled. It’s not canceled. We don’t have a script. Matt’s slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he’s doing. God, people are mean. Let him do his thing, man.”

As a result, Gunn is working on The Brave and the Bold, a separate film about the Gotham City protector, alongside the (undisclosed) writer. Andy Muschietti is set to direct the pic, still in development as of February 2025; drawing from Grant Morrison’s run of Batman in the comics, it will center on the Dark Knight and his son, of whose existence he’s unaware.

“Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally. And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right, because he’s incredibly important to DC, as is Wonder Woman,” Gunn told Rolling Stone. “So outside of the stuff that I’m doing in the projects that are actively going, our two priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman and our Batman scripts.”

He added, “Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be ‘Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,’ which he is. But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman. But yet he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really. So we’re dealing with that. I think I have a way in, by the way. I think I really know what it’s — I just am dealing with the writer to make sure that we can make it a reality.”