I Was Hyped For Robin To Join The DCU, But James Gunn’s Update About The Brave And The Bold Has Me Worried

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
(Image credit: DC Films)

The comic book genre is going through some exciting changes lately, thanks to DC co-CEO James Gunn creating a new shared universe. A huge first slate of projects was announced, named Gods and Monsters, and fans who spent years watching the DC movies in order have been monitoring their development. One such title is called The Brave and The Bold, which was expected to debut the shared universe's Batman as well as Robin Damian Wayne. Although Gunn's latest comments about that upcoming DC movie has me nervous about the Boy Wonder.

What we know about The Brave and The Bold is super limited, because it's still in the development process. But fans like me were hyped to see Robin in the new shared universe, especially after the DCEU never featured any members of the larger Bat-family. In a recent interview with IGN, Gunn case some doubt about whether or not that movie would still be focused Batman and Robin's relationship. In his words:

No, I think you have to wait to see the movie. Some things have changed. Plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff, so I wouldn’t take any of it.

Well, now I'm confused. I thought the whole point of The Brave and The Bold was a story about Bruce Wayne and his son Damian struggling with their relationship while also working together as Batman and Robin. But Gunn's comments about "parentage" make it sound like that storyline might not be happening after all.

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While James Gunn was careful not to reveal too much, this comment about parentage made his interviewer as curious about The Brave and The Bold as me. In the same chat, he was asked to clarify if that meant Damian Wayne was no longer involved in the forthcoming DC flick. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker responded with:

I think you have to wait to see exactly what’s happening.

Well, that wasn't exactly hopeful. Gunn has a penchant for shutting down rumors about this DC movies, so the fact that he didn't give a definite answer about Robin offers a sliver of hope. Damian Wayne has never been adapted into live-action yet, so I'm sure that comic book fans would love to see this character finally get to show up on the big screen in The Brave and The Bold. Alas, we'll have to keep our fingers crossed and wait for more information about what's coming next.

Damian Wayne as Robin in 2015's "Batman vs. Robin."

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Animation, DC)

A big reason why I'm hoping that we get to see Robin in the DCU is because the larger Bat-family never got to appear in the DC Extended Universe during its run in theaters. A dead Robin's suit was shown in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, although we never got the full backstory about how The Joker killed him. Additionally, the Batgirl movie was scrapped after being filmed and nearly completed, and there's still no indication that it'll ever see the light of day.

We'll just have to wait and see how The Brave and The Bold continues its development, hopefully with Damian Wayne continuing to play a role. The next DC movie hitting theaters is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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