The fate of one of the most beloved aspects of the recent DC Studios slate was unveiled during a press event held by Warner Bros. on Monday, which gave fans a much-needed information debrief about the future of the superhero franchise. Collider's own Steven Weintraub attended the press event, which saw the co-heads of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran provide an update on the extensive slate of content coming to the rebooted universe. With the success of The Batman last year, many fans have wondered how this change in leadership would affect director Matt Reeves' planned trilogy. Gunn confirmed that, while they are planning to move ahead with their own Batman in the DCU, it will not change any of the plans that Reeves has for his films, and they will move forward in tandem with the other projects.
Weintraub was the one to voice the question to Gunn, asking if the plan for The Batman trilogy was still moving ahead, to which Gunn replied, "Yes, it is. Matt is working on [The Batman — Part II], which he thinks of as a Batman Crime Saga, which also includes [The Penguin] series, and it is its own thing. He's hard at work on that. He came in and pitched us some amazing, really cool stuff the other day. So our plan is for that to continue." Safran continued by voicing his support for the project and the team's commitment to the films coming from Reeves. "The Batman is not a stepchild. It's all under DC, we are fully invested in the success of The Batman, just like we are everything else."
With all that said, Gunn was also quick to clarify that their aim is to strike a balance and not overload the audience with just Batman and overexpose the hero, "The Brave and The Bold is not going to be coming out in the same six-month period, as The Batman." The pair also said that The Batman — Part II could be in prep sometime in 2023. The Brave and the Bold is going to be the DCU Batman movie that Gunn and Safran bring to the screen and it will introduce its Batman and Robin in an unusual father-son story inspired by Grant Morrison’s comic series.
The Batman was extremely successful, both commercially and critically, as the film grossed over $770.9 million at the box office worldwide, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2022. The film was praised for its grittier rendition of the Caped Crusader and for its focus on the more grounded organized crime aspects and detective work from the World's Greatest Detective. The Batman was also nominated for three Academy Awards, with those being Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Visual Effects. With the popularity of this outing of the hero, it makes sense to continue even if another Caped Crusader will be seen grappling across movie screens soon.