Development on a standalone Batman film set in the
DC Extended Universe (DCEU) began by October 2014, with
Ben Affleck expected to direct and star. After Affleck left in January 2019, the project was reworked into
Matt Reeves's The Batman (2022) starring
Robert Pattinson which launched its own
shared universe. When
James Gunn and
Peter Safran became co-CEOs of DC Studios they began work on a new version of Batman, separate from both Affleck and Pattinson, for the DCU. Based on
Grant Morrison's run on the Batman comics (2006–2013) it explores the "
Bat-Family" for the first time in live-action films since Batman & Robin (1997), including introducing Batman's son
Damian Wayne as a version of Robin. Muschietti joined as director in June 2023.
The Brave and the Bold will be released theatrically in the United States. It will be part of the DCU's
Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
Discovery Inc. and Warner Bros.' parent company
WarnerMedia merged in April 2022 to become
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO
David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure
DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to
Marvel Studios president
Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary.[15] Writer/director
James Gunn and producer
Peter Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed
DC Studios at the end of October 2022.[16] A week after starting their new roles, the pair had begun developing an eight-to-ten-year plan for a new
DC Universe (DCU) that would be a "
soft reboot" of the DCEU.[17][18][19] Zaslav said of the new plan, "There's not going to be four Batmans".[20] Affleck was confirmed to not be reprising his role moving forward, but there was potential for him to direct a DCU project.[21]
Development
In December 2022, Gunn said Batman would be "a big part of the DCU",[22] and he debunked reports that Pattinson's version of the character would be integrated with the DCU.[23] The next month, Reeves said he was meeting with Gunn and Safran to discuss how they could avoid their plans clashing.[24] On January 31, Gunn and Safran unveiled the first projects from their DCU slate, which begins with Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. One of the films in that chapter introduces the DCU version of Batman and is titled The Brave and the Bold. Reeves's version of Batman was expected to continue outside of the DCU continuity under the
DC Elseworlds label. Gunn and Safran said The Brave and the Bold would explore members of the "
Bat-Family" for the first time on film since Batman & Robin (1997), including introducing Batman's son
Damian Wayne as a version of
Robin. Gunn said the film would be a "strange father and son story" about Batman and Robin based on
Grant Morrison's 2006 to 2013 run on the comics.[1][25] Morrison's comics appeared on
Amazon's list of best-selling comic books the next day.[26]
Andy Muschietti was the studio's top choice to direct the film by June. He previously directed the DCEU film The Flash (2023), which featured Affleck and
Michael Keaton's respective versions of Batman. Muschietti would reportedly not formally commit to the film until a script materialized after the
2023 Writers Guild of America strike concluded.[27] However, Muschietti was confirmed as the director ahead of The Flash's release later that month, with his sister
Barbara set to produce through their production company Double Dream alongside Gunn and Safran.[28]The Flash writer
Christina Hodson, who is also a member of the DCU's writer's room, was eyed to write the film but chose to work on Fast XI (2026) instead.[29] The Muschiettis were developing the film by March 2024, at which point they had not yet decided which film they would commit to next.[30]