DCU ‘Brave And The Bold’ Gets Monkey Paw Update As ‘The Flash’ Director Potentially Out, But Batman Script Now Being Handled By ‘Birds Of Prey’ Writer
In providing an almost textbook Phyrric victory to The Dark Knight’s live-action hopes, a new report offers the welcome suggestion that The Flash director Andy Muschietti’s schedule may prevent him from eventually helming the DCU’s upcoming Brave and the Bold, but simultaneously gives the unbearable confirmation that Batman’s next live-action outing is now being penned by Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson.
Announced in 2023 as part of James Gunn’s opening DCU roadmap, Brave and the Bold received its latest production update courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit, who had himself confirmed the information from insider sources within Warner Bros. based on a previous report by The Insneider‘s Jeff Sneider.
According to said sources, despite Muschietti having been initially tagged to shepherd Batman and his son, Damian Wayne, onto the silver screen since the project’s announcement, the scheduling demands related to his HBO It prequel series Welcome to Derry has made his attachment less definitive, as although he “remains on board, his ultimate involvement depends on several factors including timing and availability.”
However, while the Monitor of the DC CGI Multiverse may be dropping out from the battle for the cowl’s director, Kit was also able to confirm Hodson’s recent recruitment as the Brave and the Bold‘s scriptwriter, although it remained “unclear” at the time of his report as to “how far along” the film was in its writing process.
In addition to the aforementioned Birds of Prey disaster – or, if we’re being proper, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – Hodson’s film writing credits include the 2018 Bumblebee solo film and The Flash.
To this end, Kit further noted that DC’s current live-action Batman strategy is to give Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II “ample space to breathe” while also making sure Brave and the Bold “is distinct enough in tone and look to stand apart, regardless of when it gets made.”
While Hodson’s base attachment was already cause for concern among Bat-fans, that she was hired specifically in service of ‘differentiating’ the DCU Dark Knight from the one portrayed by Robert Pattinson raises these alarm bells to eleven, as her proven writing history confirms her proclivity towards ‘Joss Whedon-ing’ the characters put under her charge.
(Like honestly, remember the awful ‘Batman and Flash touch Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth’ scene in The Flash? Terrible.)
Notably, Muschiett’s rumored exit follows shortly after an October 2025 interview with Variety wherein the director’s sister-slash-creative partner Barbara Muschietti slightly backpedaled from their previous commitment to Brave and the Bold.
Asked by the outlet’s Marc Malkin if the film was still happening, especially in light of how it had received no news since its original reveal, Barabara replied, “The intention is yes, but we can’t talk about it,” with Andy adding ““We have to wait a few, a couple of months to start talking about it.”
Ultimately, whether Muschietti remains in the director’s chair for Brave and the Bold, as well as the actual quality of Hodson’s script (though hopes are not high) remain to be seen.
At present, the DCU film has yet to receive an official release date.
