Along with a Superman movie, a Supergirl movie, and a Swamp Thing movie, James Gunn’s ambitious DC Universe slate includes plans for a Batman reboot called The Brave and the Bold. The Brave and the Bold will be a twisted father-son story in which a new incarnation of Bruce Wayne takes his estranged son Damian Wayne, a sadistic teenage assassin raised by killers, under his wing as a version of Robin. This Batman franchise doesn’t just have to differentiate itself from the previous Batman franchises; it also has to differentiate itself from the current one. This is the first Batman reboot to get made while the previous Batman movie series is still ongoing. Matt Reeves’ The Batman saga will continue under the “DC Elseworlds” label, so audiences will have to keep track of two separate Batman stories for the foreseeable future.
There are some concerns that this will be confusing to casual audiences, but there is a precedent for it. The animated Spider-Verse movies have been running alongside Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies and audiences understand that they’re two separate stories. But part of why that works is that the Spider-Verse films have a completely different style and approach than the MCU’s live-action Spider-Man movies. The Brave and the Bold needs to set itself apart from The Batman movies in more ways than just giving the Dark Knight a son. The best way to make that distinction would be to take a tonal 180 and give The Brave and the Bold a silly, lighthearted feel to contrast with the dark, gritty gruesomeness of The Batman.
The Brave And The Bold Should Have More Fun
Over its past few incarnations, the Batman franchise has progressively gotten darker and darker. Christopher Nolan’s movies brought Batman lore into the real world. Zack Snyder’s movies turned Batman into a cold-blooded killer. The Batman is practically a horror movie in the mold of Se7en. It’s time for the pendulum to swing back in the other direction. The Brave and the Bold needs to have fun with the Batman mythos, like the campy old Adam West series did. These are stories about a billionaire who dresses up as a bat to fight crime – there’s no need to take it so seriously.
The Brave and the Bold doesn’t have to go as far as West’s 1960s TV series with its zaniness, bringing back the “Batusi” dance and fending off sharks with a shark repellent spray. But, at the same time, it shouldn’t be a dark, dreary, humorless, self-serious affair. This is a comic book adaptation, after all, and comic books are supposed to be fun. If this Batman is going to co-exist in a world with Superman and Swamp Thing, then The Brave and the Bold can’t shy away from the more comic-booky aspects of the character.
Making Fun Of Batman's Darker Side Could Actually Work
The Brave and the Bold can go one step further than just lightening up the tone; it can also poke fun at the darker tone of other Batman movies. The Lego Batman Movie (and Lego Batman’s other on-screen appearances) did a terrific job with the gentle self-parody: “I only work in black... and sometimes very, very dark gray.” Whether Gunn will be involved in The Brave and the Bold as a writer or director is unknown as of yet, but he’ll definitely be attached as a producer, and he’s a master of this kind of self-deprecating humor in comic book adaptations. Self-parody would be another great way to differentiate this Batman franchise from the others. There’s no self-mockery in The Batman series.
Batman's Villains Should Be At Least A Little Bit Silly
Both Nolan and Reeves’ movies have set out to bring classic Batman villains into the real world. Nolan’s Catwoman is a standard cat burglar. Reeves’ Penguin is a low-level mobster. Nolan’s Joker is a straight-up terrorist with a clown motif. Reeves’ Riddler is a Zodiac-style serial killer. But, conceptually, a lot of these villains were designed to be silly. The Riddler wears green spandex covered in question marks and leaves puzzles behind at the scenes of his crimes. The Penguin wears a monocle and commands an army of penguin henchmen to do his evil bidding. The Brave and the Bold should allow its villains to embrace their silliness.
The Brave and the Bold should adopt the more cartoonish aspects of the Bat’s rogues’ gallery. Instead of turning Poison Ivy into an environmental activist, let her be the crazy plant lady. Instead of turning Mr. Freeze into a scientifically gifted tragic hero, let him be the ice pun guy. The other Batman movies have stripped away the wackier elements of characters like Two-Face and the Scarecrow, and avoided characters like Clayface and Killer Croc altogether. The Brave and the Bold can set itself apart by leaning into that side of the villains.