DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn told Josh Horowitz this week that Batman: The Brave and the Bold isn't the DCU's furthest-along project — and that despite years of fan speculation, no actor has been cast as the new Bruce Wayne. Our speculation pillar remains the place to track candidate momentum.
The Brave and the Bold has been one of the most-anticipated entries in James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe slate since the Chapter One: Gods and Monsters announcement in early 2023. Andy Muschietti — director of It, It: Chapter Two, and The Flash — was confirmed as director shortly after, and Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) was named screenwriter. But Gunn's latest comments to Josh Horowitz have re-anchored expectations.
"There's people out there I think about, but let's see where the script comes in," Gunn said when asked about Batman casting — a notable phrasing that emphasizes the script's incompleteness as the primary blocker. Gunn also explicitly said the project "is not the furthest along thing" in the DCU pipeline, signaling that other Chapter One entries (most likely Clayface, Sgt. Rock, and the various TV slate items) will reach production before Brave and the Bold does.
This positions the film well behind Supergirl (June 2026 theatrical), Clayface (September 2026), and the HBO series Lanterns (August 2026) in real production sequencing. The official DC Studios website still lists Brave and the Bold without a release date, and current trade reporting puts the earliest possible window at late 2027 or early 2028.
The casting silence is notable given the volume of fan speculation. Internet-driven Bruce Wayne fan-casts have ranged from Jensen Ackles (the long-running Batfleck-replacement favorite) to Alan Ritchson, Henry Cavill (after his Superman exit), Penn Badgley, and even meme-driven choices like Glen Powell. Gunn previously acknowledged in early 2025 that "the internet's fan castings have my curiosity," but has otherwise refused to engage with specific names.
The Brave and the Bold concept itself remains structurally distinctive within the DCU. Adapted loosely from Grant Morrison's celebrated 2006–2013 Batman comics run, the film centers on Bruce Wayne's introduction to his biological son, Damian Wayne, and the formation of the Bat-Family. This is a notably different on-ramp than the established Batman origins favored by previous live-action versions — Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Tim Burton's 1989 original, and Matt Reeves's The Batman all built their narratives around younger, more isolated Bruce Wayne incarnations.
The casting decision matters substantially. Whoever takes this role will define the DCU's flagship hero for the next decade. For our complete fan-cast analysis of leading candidates — and the underlying age, physicality, and screen-history fit — see our Who Could Play the Next Batman pillar. Until the script is locked, the conversation remains genuinely open.