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Tag: the brave and the bold

  • Paul Anthony Kelly Has Become the Internet’s Favorite Batman Fancast | The Mary Sue

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    There are a few things that remain constants in the modern-day Internet: a new adorable animal to obsess over, a new meme that takes a bit of context to really understand, and chatter around Batman. There’s the endless conversation about who should play him onscreen next, particularly in the new DC Universe.

    In recent days, the Internet has latched on to a new Batman candidate: Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette star Paul Anthony Kelly. Kelly, who began his career as a model, is relatively new to the world of acting. His only other credit is The Venery of Samantha Bird, a TV series co-starring Katharine Langford and Finn Jones that was scrapped at Starz amid the 2023 Hollywood strikes. But if the hype around Love Story and his performance as Kennedy is any indication, an ever-growing number of DC fans think he has the chops to play the role.

    Kelly is far from the first actor to become a popular DCU Batman fancast: a subset of fans have been hell-bent on seeing The Housemaid star Brandon Skelnar in the role since before the DCU was even officially a thing, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Ethan Peck and Masters of the Air‘s Nate Mann have also been popular picks, and Wicked‘s Jonathan Bailey has even been asked about the possibility in interviews.

    Kelly probably won’t even be the last actor to be unofficially thrown into the conversation, with development still underway on the franchise’s planned Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold. Reports indicated earlier his year that screenwriter Christina Hodson, whose credits include Birds of Prey and Bumblebee, is working on the script. And DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn recently hinted that The Brave and the Bold won’t be released “in the same year” as Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, which is currently set to be released in the fall of 2027.

    Paul Anthony Kelly for Batman?!

    Still, the fan conversation around Kelly possibly playing Batman has felt… different. It helps that the aesthetic and tone of Love Story has been giving viewers major Bruce Wayne vibes, whether he’s flirting with Sarah Pidgeon’s Carolyn Bessette, yearning while standing in the rain, or simply looking suave in a suit. There are no shortage of fan edits using footage from the show or photos of his modeling career to illustrate the similarities — and at times, he does look like shockingly like Bruce does in the comics. (I, personally, absolutely see the resemblance to how legendary artist Neal Adams drew Bruce in the ’70s.)

    But beyond the aesthetics, there are aspects of Kelly’s energy that seem to be resonating with fans. Look no further than the comments on @jaysoromantic’s recent viral TikTok about the fancast, with user @kimdeans2 arguing that: “There is a kindness in his eyes that a lot of Batman actors don’t have… Paul has sad and kind eyes that would collect people broken like him.”

    Another comment from user @galacticcowpoke argues that Kelly fits perfectly alongside David Corenswet’s Superman, saying: “What we need is a Bruce and a Clark that look like they could switch roles and I’d be fine with them being either one. And that’s exactly what this one is.” (If you haven’t already, go read 2017’s Batman #37, an issue where the pair do exactly just that.)

    With The Brave and the Bold still a ways away, time will only tell if Kelly even ends up in the conversation to play the Caped Crusader. That being said, the years of people fancasting Corenswet for the role proves that nothing is out of the realm of possibility, and it would be poetic for both Superman and Batman to have gotten their start on Ryan Murphy-produced projects, with Corenswet previously appearing in The Politican and Hollywood. Either way, I love that the Kelly fancast has helped remind people of some less-talked-about sides of Bruce Wayne: the playboy, the yearner, and the man who would feel compelled to take an entire family worth of sidekicks under his wing.

    (featured image: TheStewartofNY/FilmMagic)

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    Jenna Anderson

    Jenna Anderson is the host of the Go Read Some Comics YouTube channel, as well as one of the hosts of the Phase Hero podcast. She has been writing professionally since 2017, but has been loving pop culture (and especially superhero comics) for her entire life. You can usually find her drinking a large iced coffee from Dunkin and talking about comics, female characters, and Taylor Swift at any given opportunity.

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    Jenna Anderson

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  • James Gunn Won’t Have Robert Pattinson Play His DCU Batman

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    As the world waits for more Batman to hit the big screen, James Gunn wants you to know and internalize that Robert Pattinson won’t be double dipping.

    On Threads, a fan asked if Pattinson could play a DCU variant separate from the version he plays in Matt Reeves’ Bat-movies. Gunn’s answer? A firm “no,” reaffirming past comments he’s made about keeping his and Reeves’ continuities separate from one another.

    While he’s been open about Batman being a tricky character to incorporate, he said in 2025 it was “certainly not the plan” to have Pattinson portray two Batmen, despite online chatter hoping that’d be the case.

    That’s where Andy Muschietti’s Brave and the Bold comes in. Announced at the start of Gunn’s tenure, that film recently bagged a writer in Birds of Prey and The Flash’s Christina Hodson. In a separate Threads post, Gunn came to her defense, saying anyone holding the latter film against her “has almost certainly never read an actual screenplay by Christina. She’s one of the writers who was with us early in the DCU planning stages. I don’t think you can judge my writing based on films others directed, as massive liberties are sometimes taken.”

    So for fans hoping to see David Corenswet and Pattinson share the big screen together, you’ll have to keep waiting: a different actor will put on the cowl for Brave and whatever movies we get Batman in Gunn’s universe. Meanwhile, Pattinson will reprise his Batman in October 2027’s The Batman Part II.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    Justin Carter

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  • James Gunn Says the New Batman Should Be Here Before 2031

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    The new DC Universe is off to a fast start. We’ve got Peacemaker jumping through dimensions, Superman saving Metropolis, and Supergirl, Clayface, and more Green Lanterns all on the way. But the one thing most fans are waiting for is Batman and James Gunn recently offered a very broad update on when the Caped Crusader might be coming.

    Over on Threads, a fan asked the president of DC Studios if he thinks the new DC Batman movie will release as late as 2030 or 2031, to which Gunn simply replied, “No.”

    Of course, there are a lot of factors adding to this answer so let’s attempt to break them all down. Gunn and his DC Studios partner Peter Safran announced that they would be making a Batman movie, likely titled The Brave and the Bold, when they first took over DC a few years ago. In that time, Gunn has offered multiple updates on the project, mostly centered on his not wanting to rush into the movie with a script that he thinks is worth making. So, for the past few years, that script has been in the works, presumably getting better each and every day.

    Notably, though, there is a Batman movie coming from DC in the near future. That’s The Batman: Part II, Matt Reeves’ follow-up to his 2022 hit starring Robert Pattinson. That film, as well as its spinoffs like The Penguin, exists in another universe. Pattinson’s Batman is not the Brave and Bold Batman who can, presumably, team up with David Corenswet’s Superman or John Cena’s Peacemaker.

    Reeves’ film, however, has a release date of October 1, 2027 (two years from yesterday!). So, you can imagine DC and Warner Bros. would not want to release two Batman films too close to one another. If Reeves’ film is coming in 2027, and Gunn thinks their film will be before 2030 or 2031, you have to think 2029 is the aim right now. Give fans a year off from Batman on the big screen, and then bring in the new one.

    Of course, this is all speculation. Gunn has said numerous times before he’s not going to rush the film but he’s thinking about it a lot. Batman is too important not just to DC but also to Warner Bros. When it happens, if it happens, it’ll be right. But, it’ll probably happen before the totally fake-sounding year of 2031.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    Germain Lussier

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  • James Gunn Talks Batman and ‘Brave & the Bold’ Status

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    What’s going on with Batman and Brave & the Bold, his first movie in this growing DC universe? According to James Gunn, things are going well, but not so well that they’ve found an actor for the superhero just yet.

    In a recent Hollywood Reporter story, Gunn explained he’s not actively searching for actors to play the character he considers a big problem in several respects. Still, that hasn’t stopped some from putting their names out there well in advance like Brandon Sklenar; the It Ends With Us and 1923 star has openly shown interest and encouraged his fans to help spread his name out there.

    Gunn previously mentioned 1923 on a recent Peacemaker podcast episode, prompting speculation that he was scouting out Sklenar. But he told THR he just likes the show and creator Taylor Sheridan’s work—he considers Sklenar “great” on it, but he’s watching “mostly for fun, definitely not because I need to find a Batman.” He did, however, single out Julia Schlaepfer, who plays Sklernar’s wife on the show: “She’s just so fantastic that I suggested her for something recently.”

    As for Brave & the Bold, Gunn revealed to IGN the script is in a pretty good place. But when it comes to its co-lead Damian Wayne, “plenty of things are in flux. Some things have changed on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff.” When asked for clarification on what exactly that means, like who Damian’s parents are or if he’ll still be in the movie, he just said “you have to wait and see exactly what’s happening.”

    Cryptic, but at least we know the movie still exists. Hopefully, we learn who our new Batman is, and what else to expect from Brave & the Bold, sooner rather than later.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    Justin Carter

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  • Checking In on the DCU’s 10-Year Plan

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    Keepers of the DCU.
    Photo: Stewart Cook//Warner Bros. via Getty Images

    In 2022, James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co–biggest boys of DC Studios. Shortly thereafter, the pair announced that they had an “eight- to ten-year” plan for how the DCU would be connected across movies, TV, and video games. In that initial press conference, the duo unveiled the first part of their universe, Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, the big keystone of which was Superman. Or, as it was known then, Superman: Legacy. Other pieces set to follow included an Amanda Waller cartoon, some live-action Green Lantern shenanigans, and the film debut of Damian Wayne. So how has Gunn and Safran’s ten- (or eight-)year plan been going?

    Before Gunn and Safran could get their vision underway, they had to finish out the projects already chugging along the Warner Bros. Discovery assembly line. Okay, not all of them. A third Wonder Woman film was axed in December 2022.

    It was always unclear how much of the old DCEU would be making it into the Gunniverse. Viola Davis has played Amanda Waller across the Suicide Squad movies, but after the underperformance of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Jason Momoa transitioned from Ocean Man to Space Bounty Hunter. He’s playing Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl film. Then there’s The Flash. In his initial rollout video, Gunn said the film “resets the entire DC Universe.” But that reset ended with George Clooney as Batman, so how central to the continuity can it be?

    The first official release from the ten-/eight-year plan was the animated Creature Commandos. It was Gunn’s trial run in having the same actors play characters across animation and live-action. Frank Grillo plays Rick Flag Sr. on the show and in Superman. The show introduced animated Amanda Waller, voiced by Viola Davis, cementing her place in the nüDCU. It also means G.I. Robot can fight Nazis in live-action, should the need arise.

    But obviously, the most important release for this ten-year plan was Superman. And now that it’s breaking box-office records, Gunn & Co. can unclench a little. The film sets up the Green Lantern Corps. and Supergirl, and even brings Hawkgirl from Peacemaker into moviedom.

    Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) sets up the Green Lantern Corps. for HBO’s Lanterns. The show will be a double-hander between Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, “very much in the vein of True Detective,” per Safran and Gunn. The show is expected to come out in early 2026. Kyle Chandler will play Jordan, opposite Aaron Pierre as Stewart, per Deadline. Created by Damon Lindelof and Tom King, the show will follow noob Lantern Stewart and veteran Jordan as they solve a murder in flyover America. And those boys can fly.

    The ending of Superman sets up Milly Alcock as Supergirl, a hot mess Kryptonian party girl. Turns out Krypto is her dog, and Clark was pet-sitting while she got shit-faced off-world. Gunn has already said the film will closely follow the Woman of Tomorrow arc, with outer-space high jinks with her protege Ruthye (Eve Ridley) and the dark ’n’ gritty Lobo (Jason Momoa). Supergirl lands in theaters June 26, 2026.

    David Zaslav indicated that the Clayface movie is imminent in his statement celebrating Superman’s box-office success obtained by THR. “Over the next year alone, DC Studios will introduce the films Supergirl and Clayface in theaters and the series Lanterns on HBO Max, all part of a bold ten-year plan,” he wrote. “The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.” Clayface is reportedly shooting in Liverpool right now, with a tentative release date some time in 2026.

    While the world waits for Supergirl, her cousin’s next adventure is already being worked on. James Gunn told Collider that he’s “totally done with the treatment” for the Superman sequel. “We’re scheduling it now,” he explained. “My treatments are incredibly intense. They’re not regular treatments. They’re 60-page treatments with dialogue and everything. And so, now I’m just turning that into a script. We’re planning out when we’re going to shoot that. It’s going to be much sooner rather than later.” On September 3, Gunn announced that the upcoming Supes sequel will be titled Man of Tomorrow and come out July 9, 2027. Start your Doomsday clocks now.

    Gunn has been sharing some details about The Brave and the Bold, the DCU’s introduction to the entire Batfam. It’s going to be a father-son flick about Bruce and his son, Damian Wayne. All we really know about this movie’s casting, however, is that Robert Pattinson won’t be BatDad.

    We haven’t heard much about the planned Waller animated show since November 2024, when Gunn bleeted that the show was still in development. But on August 30, Gunn told People the show was still on his To-Do list. “We’re working on it, so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “Some things have moved faster than others. Waller’s not been the fastest.” In a since-deleted tweet, Gunn had previously attributed the delay on Waller to script issues. “Unlike most studios, we’ll never start production on a process if the script isn’t finished. Quality is the utmost priority,” he wrote in a very obvious dig at Disney’s MCU.

    James Gunn confirmed that Supergirl and Teen Titans writer Ana Nogueira is working on the script for the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. Gunn also denied the rumor that the movie’s being fast-tracked by the studio: “It’s a priority, but I wouldn’t call that fast-tracked. Nothing is going to be shot unless we’re as sure as we can be that the script is good.” Sorry, Gal Gadot, DC Studios is eyeing a new Diana Prince for the next generation of supes. So we’re probably still a few years away from revisiting Themyscira.

    Some shows and movies seem to have moved to the back burner, if they’re happening at all. There’s been very little info about The Authority (a “by any means necessary” alternative to the Justice League), Paradise Lost (a Game of Thrones–look-alike set on Wonder Woman’s homeland), the Booster Gold HBO Max series, or whatever Gunn and Safran are/were planning to do with Swamp Thing. But, hey, there are still five to seven years to go!

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    Bethy Squires

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