As we rely down the remaining weeks till James Gunn’s Superman arrives to the 2025 launch schedule, there are two different upcoming DC films that Gunn, who’s working the inventive aspect of DC Studios, has prioritized determining. The primary is The Courageous and the Daring, which can introduce the DC Universe’s Batman and see him combating alongside his son Damian, and the second is the recently-confirmed Surprise Girl film for a similar franchise. However one is proving more durable to crack than the opposite, and I appreciated Gunn’s tackle why that is the case.
Why James Gunn Is Having Issue Figuring Out Batman For The DCU
The Courageous and the Daring was introduced as a part of the opening DCU slate in January 2023, and by the next June, The Flash’s Andy Muschietti was unveiled as its director. However updates for this mission have been few and much between since then, and right here’s what James Gunn needed to say about the place issues stand with The Courageous and the Daring whereas talking with Rolling Stone:
Batman’s my largest challenge in all of DC proper now, personally. And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, however I’m working with the author of Batman and making an attempt to get it proper, as a result of he’s extremely vital to DC, as is Surprise Girl. So outdoors of the stuff that I’m doing within the initiatives which can be actively going, our two priorities are ending our Surprise Girl and our Batman scripts.
Though it was reported in February 2025 {that a} author had been tapped to pen The Courageous and the Daring, their id hasn’t been revealed but. Nonetheless, it ought to come as no shock that James Gunn is working with this author to try to crack The Courageous and the Daring given his management place at DC Studios. With Batman being one of many DCU’s 4 “pillars,” it’s all of the extra vital that this tackle the Caped Crusader be dealt with as rigorously as potential, particularly given what number of different interpretations of the character have come earlier than. As Gunn defined:
Batman has to have a motive for current, proper? So Batman can’t simply be “Oh, we’re making a Batman film as a result of Batman’s the largest character in all of Warner Bros.,” which he’s. However as a result of there’s a necessity for him within the DCU and a necessity that he’s not precisely the identical as Matt’s Batman. However but he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not fascinated by that. I’m not fascinated by a humorous, campy Batman, actually. So we’re coping with that. I feel I’ve a manner in, by the way in which. I feel I actually know what it’s — I simply am coping with the author to ensure that we will make it a actuality.
Even setting apart what number of live-action variations of Batman we’ve gotten over the a long time, we’re in an attention-grabbing time the place two cinematic variations of the superhero will exist concurrently. Whereas Robert Pattinson’s Batman will proceed doing his personal issues within the universe launched by Matt Reeves, James Gunn and this unnamed author are laborious at work determining to make their yet-to-be-cast model distinctive. Simply don’t anticipate within the DCU’s Batman to be humorous and campy to offset the overwhelming darkish nature of Pattinson’s.
Why James Gunn Thinks Surprise Girl Is Simpler To Pull Off For The DCU
In the meantime, we don’t know something in regards to the DCU’s Surprise Girl film aside from it’s being developed. And but, James Gunn finds cracking Diana of Themyscira to be a easier prospect in comparison with Batman, saying:
Surprise Girl I feel is definitely simpler for me, as a result of there haven’t been so many infinite portrayals of Surprise Girl — undoubtedly not in films, however actually anyplace — that there have been of Batman. Each single Batman story has been advised. It looks as if half the comics which have come out of DC over the previous 30 years have Batman in them. He’s probably the most well-known superhero on the earth and the most well-liked superhero on the earth. And folks love him as a result of he’s attention-grabbing, but in addition having a lot of him on the market may make him boring. So how do you create that property that’s enjoyable to observe?
Surprise Girl might comprise DC Comics’ core Trinity subsequent to Batman and Superman, however she undoubtedly hasn’t been tailored outdoors of the comics almost as a lot as her two cohorts, particularly in live-action. Gal Gadot is the one actress who’s introduced Diana to life on the large display screen on this manner, so there’s not fairly as a lot stress with the DCU’s model stand out in comparison with Batman. Regardless, James Gunn is ensuring the right period of time and care can be put into Surprise Girl since she’s additionally one of many aforementioned pillars of this franchise.
Neither The Courageous and the Daring nor this Surprise Girl film have launch dates but, however we’ll take our first step into the DCU within the cinematic realm when Superman is launched on July 11. Then Supergirl (beforehand referred to as Supergirl: Girl of Tomorrow) will comply with on June 26, 2026, and Clayface is ready for a September 11, 2026 launch.