DC has riches. Superman is the symbol for superheroes. Wonder Woman is the quintessential female superhero. The Joker is the face of super villains. DC has fully capitalized on the iconography of each of the characters and much more. But there is one character whose shadow looms over them; Batman. Batman is the one who seems to be at the center of big stories the most often. DC has embraced the larger-than-life persona that the Dark Knight has become. No better proof of that is now. There will be a point where there will be two Batmans starring in two different film universes. But each of these films have taken a slow stroll to get going. However, the one existing in the DCU has a curious case around it. Since it is a Batman film, fans want it to arrive sooner but James Gunn is holding it off so there is no overlap with Matt Reeves’ Batman. Which creates this itchy anticipation. Of all the characters that need to be casted still, the Batman role seems to be gravitated toward the most. And with the little details fan do get over time, there seems to be some disagreeing. The Batman film within the DCU, which as of now is named Batman: The Brave and the Bold, continues to generate this mystic around it, which reflects the character, for the better and worse.
Batman does have a lot of passion surrounding him. Perhaps the comic book character that has the fieriest fanbase. When a superhero movie comes out, there is a lot of expectation for the movie. But when a Batman movie comes out, that bar triples in height. There’s a ton of content that the fanbase agrees as a whole needs to be in the movie. And then there’s content that smaller groups or even individual fans believe need to be in the movie. All that puts a lot of pressure for any Batman film. But that does come from passion. Sometimes a little too hot passion but passion nonetheless. Batman is a character that many people hold close and want the love they have for him to be reflected in the final product.
That is being seen and felt with Batman: The Brave and the Bold. There are a handful of projects slated to come out before that movie arrives. Supergirl is next up and fans are already praising the fact that Jason Momoa is finally playing Lobo. Lanterns stirs some interest since the series is heavily grounding some characters that are heavily intergalactic. But, despite having little known about it, eyes still slide over to Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Perhaps the biggest talk around the DCU is who will be playing Batman. Again, there are projects that are slated to come out before Batman: The Brave and the Bold that still need the roles filled out but the speculation still hovers around Batman. The frontrunners are Alan Ritchson and Brandon Sklenar. Fans are adamant that the role needs to, it has to be one of these two men. The desire is so high, the actors find themselves entertaining the speculation no matter they go. But again, there is a handful of projects that still need the main role(s) casted. Swamp Thing needs to be casted. Booster Gold needs to be casted. Bane and Deathstroke need to be casted. All of the Teen Titans and The Authority need to have the ensemble casted. But attention still pivots and remains over Batman. Even when an actor is officially announced for a DC role, it has this feeling as if it’s glanced over. Recently, one of DC’s most iconic characters – Brainiac – got casted, but it had this feeling to it as if it was barely noticed. If that were Batman being casted that day, echoes of approval, or rejection, would have echoed loudly in across all fandoms. And that’s the bad thing that could rear its head here. There’s so much speculation, so much desire for certain actors to fill the role, that when it does go in a direction that many don’t see coming, there will be a lot of disappointment. Disappointment that may in fact be unwarranted. The role of Batman does have a history of actors being casted, questioned by fans but ultimately embraced by them. But the role of Batman is sacred, and since this the Batman that could last years, anticipation for his arrival matches the level of energy he brings to the universe.
The reason why this movie is getting this much attention is because it boils down to the simple fact that this is Batman. Many fans highly regard this character. For dedicated Batman fans, he is a high importance to them. They need any Batman project to fully respect him and if there’s an ounce of questioning revolving around the character, there will be a flurry of pushback. A recent case just happened. A while ago it was announced that Christina Hodson is attached to write the screenplay for Batman: The Brave and the Bold. She also wrote the screenplay for The Flash, Birds of Prey and Bumblebee. This announcement however was unfortunately met with some of that pushback. Many pointed that these films felt short in expectation. However, there is some promise regarding Hodson. Assuming she had to rewrite most of The Flash from scratch– since that movie went through many hands before the final creative team got there –, some of the best elements from that film were actually Batman content. The action scene with Ben Affleck was solid. The dialogue he had with Barry was deep and emotional. And of course, everything with Michael Keaton was superb. He had even more emotional and encouraging moments with Barry. And his action scenes were perhaps the best Batman action scenes of all time. She handled Batman perfectly. Then with Bumblebee, she showed her skills then too. When Bumblebee came out, it was regarded as the best Transformer movie. A reason to maybe why, because he had substantial moments as well. There were touching moments with Bumblebee and Hailee Steinfeld’s character, Charlie. Since Batman: The Brave and the Bold will have Batman and Robin (Damien Wayne) share screentime, that bond between two characters will have to be important to the story. So, the love for Batman is a passion a lot of fans have in their lives but sometimes that passion could limit optimism. It’s also this passion that drives fans to keep an ear out for anything related to Batman: The Brave and the Bold. And will voice their opinions a lot louder for this particular movie when a talent is announced.
No question Batman is loved differently than a lot of other characters. Because of that, he is treated much differently. More attention is given to him, more focus, more defense, shorten patience. That love is beginning to show when it comes to Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Fans are not pestering those involved but when something does, or does not, get announced, it is quickly jumped on. Discussions, theories, approval, or rejection all go around. While other announcements have been made for other DCU projects, anything regarding the DCU’s Batman is the one heard the most, or at least one of the loudest. If you combine the mystic of Batman’s character and this world that has connective tissue from the start, it makes Batman’s stature grow even more. That results in the attention Batman: The Brave and the Bold is getting. Because it is Batman, any news about him or his world – no matter the format – will get a special amount of treatment that other characters seldomly see.
