Published Jan 29, 2026, 7:00 AM EST
Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.
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It was recently announced that The Flash’s writer and director combo of Christina Hodson and Andy Muschietti will be the dynamic duo teaming up for the DCU’s first Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold. This has stirred some of the biggest controversies for the DCU since it was revealed that James Gunn was the co-chair of DC Studios.
With this writer and director in place, the DCU’s future seems like it is prepared to move ahead with Batman. It may be too soon to say with any guarantee, but this could be an excessive course correction for how the DCU wishes to interpret its Batman without having him clash with that of The Batman’s DC Elseworld, with James Gunn leaning on a DC movie he has repeatedly and publicly praised. Because The Flash is highly condemned by a lot of vocal audiences, this choice hasn’t inspired a ton of confidence in what the future of the DCU will look like.
The Flash Movie Bombed
The Flash movie was a box office failure, and its legacy is going to be some dodgy CGI and its reputation as a critical and commercial failure for DC and Warner Bros. It’s staggering, then, that the writer and director are being assembled for what could be one of the DCU’s most pivotal movies.
Of course, there wasn’t a lot going for The Flash when it was released. A duo like Christina Hodson and Andy Muschietti—whose individual work includes the beloved Bumblebee movie and the terrific It: Welcome to Derry show, respectively—given the resources and, more importantly, oversight of the DCU could turn heads.
Besides, with Christina Hodson having written the canned Batgirl movie, The Brave and the Bold could hopefully rectify that in some way. The Brave and the Bold is probably far out from now if its writer and director have only recently been tapped, especially if it feels an obligation to avoid The Batman: Part 2 at the tail-end of 2027, so Christina Hodson and Andy Muschietti both have an exorbitant amount of time to win fans over.
What’ll be most interesting about this pair reuniting is the tone and direction that The Brave and the Bold may have, and that might bear a closer resemblance to The Flash than some fans are prepared to reconcile with.
Batman’s Writer/Director Combo is a Mixed Bag
If James Gunn and the DCU want their Batman to be visually and tonally distinct from Matt Reeves’ The Batman, they’ll have no problem accomplishing that if it turns out to look and feel anything like The Flash. Plus, considering how much James Gunn adored The Flash, it wouldn’t at all be surprising if The Brave and the Bold takes more than a few cues from The Flash.
Fans’ concerns about The Brave and the Bold being written by Christina Hodson and directed by Andy Muschietti aren’t entirely misplaced, particularly if they greatly disliked The Flash. Still, it shouldn’t be dismissed entirely. For instance, Christina Hodson wrote DC’s Birds of Prey movie, which is arguably one of the best Snyderverse DC movies and has phenomenal villain portrayals via Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask and Chris Messina’s Zsasz.
Batman also contributed to some of the best sequences in The Flash, whose worst sins debatably had nothing to do with the script, which has its lovely, poignant moments, as well as hilarious ones. If Christina Hodson and Andy Muschietti rely wholly on what made The Flash endearing and entertaining, there’s a possibility it could woo non-believers. Of course, a massive part of what will make The Brave and the Bold enticing is its cast, including who is eventually cast to be the DCU’s Batman.
The Flash is unique in a lot of ways, and flawed in many more. Regardless, The Brave and the Bold is sure to be a polarizing Batman movie.
The DCU’s Future is Sure to Be Colorful
It’s obvious that there isn’t a tightly wound throughline or rigid structure to the DCU, at least in terms of what movies and TV shows are made and when. That is, it certainly doesn’t seem like there is one, with the projects that have launched and are slated to be released soon not having much in the way of coherence: Superman, Supergirl, and Man of Tomorrow releasing in three consecutive summers is unprecedented and prudent, for example, but Clayface releasing in late-2026 amid all that appears incredibly random.
This is a boon for the DCU if creative teams and crews have the freedom to explore characters and stories at any point in the overarching continuity’s timeline, and it also demonstrates that the DCU isn’t terrified of having most of its individual projects be nonconforming. Clayface doesn’t seem like it’ll be even remotely similar in tone to Superman, and that will give the DCU a range that the MCU didn’t have until Taika Waititi made bold comedic swings with Thor: Ragnarok.
However, due to how highly anticipated the DCU’s Batman is, The Brave and the Bold has the potential to make or break the whole continuity. Only time will tell if The Flash’s writer and director combo will be what helps this highly anticipated iteration of Batman exceed or fail.
Created by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Movie(s) Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold
Character(s) Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam
English (US) ·