James Gunn says Batman: The Brave and the Bold is not paused, shooting down an August 25 report that the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger had stalled the DCU Batman film. Gunn called the claim inaccurate on Threads and said no DC Studios project is on hold because of the corporate deal.
DC Studios co-head James Gunn pushed back on Threads on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, after filmmaker Dan Marcus posted on X that director Andy Muschietti had told him work on Batman: The Brave and the Bold stopped because of the pending Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Responding directly to the claim, Gunn wrote that it “doesn’t sound like something Andy would have said,” adding flatly: “the project is in no way on hold.” (SuperHeroHype)
What Sparked the Rumor
Marcus’s original post tied the pause to the pending Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, a roughly $111 billion deal (including debt) that has already cleared the DOJ, the European Commission, and UK regulators. What’s actually holding it up is a lawsuit from a coalition of 12 U.S. state attorneys general, still headed to a federal trial that isn’t scheduled to wrap until April 2027 — which is why Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery pushed their target closing date from September 2026 to June 2027 (case details). Marcus later clarified that Muschietti hadn’t said the film itself was paused, only that its production timeline was uncertain, but by then the “Brave and the Bold is frozen” version of the story was already spreading. A fan then pressed Gunn directly on Threads about whether the film could start shooting in 2027 if the script were finished. Gunn’s response was broader than a simple denial: “The universe is rife with incorrect information about the Brave and the Bold on every level.”
Gunn Says the Merger Isn’t Freezing DC Studios
Gunn’s comments matter beyond one film. Since Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed merger talks earlier this year, fans and trade reporters alike have treated every DC Studios delay as evidence the deal is quietly stalling production. Gunn’s message was the opposite: development at DC Studios is continuing on its existing schedule regardless of how the corporate deal resolves. That tracks with reporting that Paramount has no plans to replace Gunn or co-head Peter Safran, and that incoming Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has described himself as “pretty open to what we’re doing” at the studio.
Where Brave and the Bold Actually Stands
The denial doesn’t mean the Damian Wayne-focused Batman film is moving fast. Gunn has said publicly and repeatedly that he doesn’t want to “cloud the Batsphere” by putting his DCU Batman in front of audiences before Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, which is targeting 2028. That sequencing choice, not the merger, is the real reason insiders don’t expect Brave and the Bold before 2029. In other words: not on hold, but not being rushed either.
The Original Insight
The detail that gets lost in the back-and-forth: the rumor and Gunn’s denial are actually describing the same underlying fact from two different angles. Marcus said the timeline was “uncertain.” Gunn didn’t dispute that, he disputed the word “on hold.” A script still in development, sequenced deliberately behind another studio’s Batman movie, will always look uncertain from the outside. The merger gave that ordinary uncertainty a much scarier headline than the facts actually support.
| Detail | What We Know |
|---|---|
| What happened | James Gunn denied on Threads (Aug 25, 2026) that Batman: The Brave and the Bold is paused |
| What prompted it | Filmmaker Dan Marcus reported director Andy Muschietti said the merger stalled the film |
| Gunn’s quote | “The project is in no way on hold.” |
| Merger context | Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery deal (~$111B); cleared by regulators, blocked by a 12-state AG lawsuit |
| Real reason for the wait | Gunn is sequencing the film behind The Batman Part II (2028) on purpose |
| Earliest expected release | 2029, per Gunn’s own public timeline comments |
Internally, this is now the second time in 2026 Gunn has had to knock down a Brave and the Bold fast-tracking rumor: a February report claimed he was deliberately slow-walking the film to let Reeves’ Batman universe go first, which Gunn also denied at the time. The throughline across both denials is consistent: DC Studios says its Batman sequencing is a creative choice, not a corporate one.
What This Means for the Rest of the DCU
Gunn’s blanket “nothing is on hold” statement is also the clearest public signal yet that the merger isn’t freezing the wider slate. DC Studios has releases already dated, including Lanterns on HBO Max, Clayface in theaters September 11, 2026, and Superman: Man of Tomorrow set for July 2027, and Gunn’s comments suggest none of that is being renegotiated while Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery sort out the deal. Whether that holds if the merger closes and corporate priorities shift is a separate question this desk will keep tracking.
Related: DC’s other 2026 event, Batman: Bad Seeds, launched its first issue the same week, unaffected by any of the merger talk. GamesRadar+ has more on the full back-and-forth on Threads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Batman: The Brave and the Bold canceled?
No. James Gunn said directly on Threads on August 25, 2026 that the film “is in no way on hold,” responding to a rumor that it had been paused.
Why did people think the film was paused?
Filmmaker Dan Marcus posted on X that director Andy Muschietti told him production was uncertain because of the pending Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Marcus later clarified Muschietti didn’t say the project itself was paused.
Is the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger affecting DC Studios?
According to Gunn, no current DC Studios projects are on hold because of it. The deal itself has already cleared U.S., EU, and UK regulators; a lawsuit from 12 state attorneys general is what’s actually delaying the close, now targeted for June 2027. Reports also indicate Paramount plans to keep Gunn and Peter Safran running DC Studios regardless of how it resolves.
When will Batman: The Brave and the Bold come out?
No release date has been set. Gunn has said he’s deliberately sequencing it behind Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II (2028), which points to an earliest possible release in 2029.
Who is directing Batman: The Brave and the Bold?
Andy Muschietti, known for It and It Chapter Two, is attached to direct. The film will introduce Damian Wayne as Robin alongside Bruce Wayne’s Batman.
