It’s a great time to be a fan of Kyrptonians with Superman set to fly into theaters later this year, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which will feature Jason Momoa’s live-action debut as Lobo, experiencing a smooth and speedy run into production start and already halfway through filming. However, things are looking darker than Gotham for Batman fans, who are still awaiting news on The Brave and the Bold, the DCU’s Batman film, and are still more than two and a half years away from The Batman Part 2 starring Robert Pattinson. There have been rumors swirling for months now about Pattinson potentially being the one to take up the mantle of Batman in the DCU, and during a recent press event at the Warner Bros. lot, Collider’s Steve Weintraub had a chance to ask James Gunn and Peter Safran if there was any credibility to this chatter.

Gunn was quick to answer Weintraub with a rather revealing response, saying, “It’s certainly not the plan. Like it’s certainly not the plan.” With Safran adding, “No, yeah, and we love him, but you know, we have to introduce a Batman into the DCU. You know, it’s imperative and so, that’s the plan with Brave and the Bold.”

It makes sense from a storytelling and cohesion perspective that Gunn and Safran would like the DCU to have its own Batman, as multiple iterations of the same character were part of what made the last DC regime so hard for casual fans to get behind. Pattinson’s Batman is also set in a unique version of Gotham brought to life by famous Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves, and with the recent release of The Penguin, he seems content keeping his universe self-contained and completely detached from a larger world full of heroes. Casting for The Brave and the Bold has yet to be announced, but the film will be directed by Andy Muschietti, who most recently helmed The Flash.

How Did ‘The Batman’ Perform at the Box Office?

The Batman premiered to rave scores of 85% from critics and 87% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and the film also earned nearly four times its production budget at the box office. The film grossed $369 million domestically and $402 million in international markets for a worldwide cumulative haul of $772 million, and it also added $18 million from at-home video sales, according to The Numbers. The Batman was produced for an estimated budget of around $200 million, meaning the film was a major financial success of Warner Bros.

The Batman Part 2 will release on October 1, 2027, and The Brave and the Bold does not yet have an official release date. Stay tuned to Collider for updates on all things related to The Dark Knight.