DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn loves a good rumour quashing. Days ago, he crushed the dream that Warner Bros. was filming The Batman II and The Batman III back-to-back. And, before that, he put the kibosh on rumours that his own studio’s next Batman instalment, The Brave and the Bold, had secretly cast its leading man.
He did the latter with just three simple words in response to a question on Threads – “De and bunked” – setting off renewed speculation around who the next Batman could be before the studio even has a script. The current fan frontrunner is the behemoth that is Alan Ritchson (Reacher, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and pretty much anything that requires him to be generally massive), closely followed by Jensen Ackles (The Boys) and Tom Brittney (The Westies).
As much as I’d love to play casting director and throw in some spicy left-field choices of my own (Matthew Rhys – any day of the week), we’re not likely to have our new DCU Batman any time soon. This is by design.
Setting aside the fact that I haven’t yet forgiven him for stealing two hours of my relatively young life with last year’s could-have-been-made-by-high-schoolers Superman… here’s why James Gunn’s continued silence – with the odd breadcrumb confirming said silence – is a genius move straight out of the Hollywood studio head playbook.
The Zero Dollar Media Storm
Traditional PR campaigns complete with teasers, event activations, and press tours cost tens of millions of dollars. Speculation costs precisely $0.
Whether it’s your average Joe on socials or a journalist like yours truly, whenever someone ponders the matter, DC Studios gets free, high-intent brand engagement for zero investment. This is compounded whenever actors like Ritchson or Ackles respond to questions about Batman on podcasts, talk shows, and socials in general.
DC doesn’t have to lift a finger, yet Batman and The Brave and the Bold is continuously plastered all over the tiny screens glued to our addicted little hands 24/7.
You only need to look at James Bond to see how powerful this model is. With each instalment spaced out by several years, the franchise perpetually generates hundreds of millions in earned media value purely on casting rumours. It’s as ridiculous as it is effective when you take a moment to really think about it. For Pete’s sake, we’ve been talking about who’s replacing Daniel Craig for so long that Idris Elba has aged both in and out of the role (a genuine shame if you ask me).
When UK tabloids claimed Aaron Taylor-Johnson was 'formally offered' 007 back in March 2024, it instantly spiralled into global reporting, with outlets like Rolling Stone, the BBC, and even Boss Hunting picking it up and adding to the media whirlwind. This, along with the social media frenzy that followed, generated multi-week brand dominance without a single cent spent on advertising.
Who will play the next Bond is as woven into the fabric of the franchise as the movies themselves. It’s part of the brand, and it’s all totally free marketing that doesn’t require the Broccolis or their Amazon MGM Studios successors to expend any energy whatsoever. DC would be idiotic not to follow suit.
Avoiding Batman Cannibalisation
Delaying the casting announcement for The Brave and the Bold is also good business given that Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II starring Robert Pattinson is already in production. The SEO impact alone is enough to justify putting DC casting on the back burner.
Of course, Gunn delaying The Brave and the Bold does more than just promote organic PR frenzy. For Gunn, and the brave new world-building at DC, it’s about protecting the overall brand from dilution and box-office cannibalisation.
You only have to look at the director’s former employer to spot the contemporary cautionary tale.
Marvel had some successes over the last couple of decades, but the near-constant barrage of blockbuster movies along with the dizzying array of prequels, sequels, and spin-offs resulted in fan fatigue and arguably damaged the brand’s credibility. For every billion-dollar juggernaut, there were at least five subpar outings that left fans disappointed and, frankly, a little exhausted.
Developing two Batmen simultaneously is unprecedented territory for DC’s parent company Warner Bros. Spacing out these instalments – along with the speculation circus surrounding pre-production – is therefore wise.
Furthermore, if DC does choose to go down the fan-favourite Ritchson route and return to the ‘80s and ‘90s hyper-muscular action star, it’d be a stark contrast to Robert Pattinson’s lean, gothic, and detective-noir-style Batman. Putting some breathing room between the two wildly different portrayals is again just good sense. See also, James Gunn’s Superman.
Fancasting is Free Market Testing
It’s safe to say that you’re never going to please everyone. And in the age of social media, where everybody feels entitled to scream their opinions from the rooftops with the subtlety and grace of an enraged bull suffering from the Colombian flu in a compact china shop, finding a solution that offends the smallest – or the least vocal – group is the best you can realistically hope for. But even this involves navigating a tightrope, and finding the least objectionable solution can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
While many keyboard warriors are mindlessly screaming their opinions into the void simply because they can, studios do actively monitor overall trends. It’s free, global focus-group data that tells DC exactly what the public – or at least the majority of said public – wants from their next Batman.
Whether it’s a bulked-up brute with comic-book-accurate muscle definition or a brooding noir lead with intriguing complexity (again, Matthew Rhys – any day of the week), social media fancasting provides actionable data that steers studios towards the choice that carries the least amount of risk. And, in an increasingly risk-averse industry, this real-time information is gold.
Schrödinger’s Batman Keeps Everyone Happy… For Now
As long as nobody is Batman, everyone is Batman. This illusion of infinite potential keeps the speculation PR machine in full swing, and maintaining it for as long as humanly possible is just good business for both Warner Bros. and DC. Because, let’s face it, the moment an actor is officially announced, approximately 50% of the internet will find some reason to complain about it.
But on the bright side, this will set off a brand new tsunami of free viral marketing in the form of the equally ridiculous and inevitable #notmybatman backlash.
So, long story short, James Gunn and DC can sit back, relax, and let the suspense build until they’re good and ready to release the kraken. They’re in for a truckload of free PR either way. It worked for Spider-Man: No Way Home; it’s worked for Bond for over 60 years, and it’ll work for The Brave and the Bold too.