James Gunn’s rebooted DC cinematic universe is supposed to be a clean slate. A reset. A chance to finally stabilize a franchise that has spent the better part of a decade lurching from one misfire to the next. Instead, Gunn’s latest creative decision has sparked immediate concern. The writer chosen for Batman: The Brave and the Bold is Christina Hodson — the same screenwriter behind multiple high-profile DC flops and failures.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hodson has been tapped to write the new Batman film for DC Studios, which is positioned as a cornerstone project in Gunn’s new DCU. That alone makes this decision impossible to shrug off. Batman is not just another character — he is the most important IP DC has, the foundation upon which any successful shared universe must be built.
And Gunn has entrusted that foundation to a writer whose DC track record is, at best, deeply troubling.
A Resume Defined by DC’s Biggest Missteps
Hodson’s DC résumé is not a mixed bag. It’s overwhelmingly associated with projects that failed commercially, critically, or both.
Eara Miller as The Flash in The Flash – YouTube, DC
She wrote The Flash, a film that was heavily marketed as a game-changing multiverse epic and instead became one of the most catastrophic box-office flops in superhero history. Despite years of hype, constant reshoots, and studio assurances that it would “reset” DC continuity, The Flash collapsed on release, grossing far below expectations and failing to generate lasting audience interest.
She also penned Birds of Prey, a film that underperformed theatrically and struggled to connect with mainstream audiences. While defenders continue to insist the movie was misunderstood or mistreated by marketing, the hard reality is that Birds of Prey failed to justify its existence as a franchise launchpad and quickly faded from cultural relevance.
Harley Quinn in The DCEU – YouTube, Warner Bros. Pictures
Then there’s Batgirl — the most infamous entry on Hodson’s résumé. Batgirl remains the only DC film ever canceled after being fully shot, an unprecedented move that sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Warner Bros. Discovery chose to shelve the film entirely, writing it off for tax purposes rather than release it in any form. While multiple factors contributed to that decision, the end result is undeniable: a completed DC movie deemed so unviable it was erased.
This is the writer now being asked to define Batman’s future.
Batman Is Not a Test Case
What makes this decision especially baffling is the context. Gunn and his DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran have repeatedly emphasized that they are taking a “measured” approach to rebuilding DC. That they understand past mistakes. That the DCU must earn audience trust back one project at a time.
Batman overlooking Gotham City – Warner Bros., YouTube
If that rhetoric is sincere, then Batman: The Brave and the Bold should be treated with extreme caution — not creative gambling.
Batman is DC’s most reliable draw. He is the character that has survived multiple cinematic reboots, tonal shifts, and creative regimes. When DC stumbles, Batman is the safety net. When DC succeeds, Batman is usually at the center of it.
Batman and Bane in Lego Batman: Legacy – YouTube, DC
Entrusting that character to a writer whose recent DC output includes a historic box-office disaster, a franchise misfire, and a fully canceled film is a major risk.
And it’s a risk Gunn is taking voluntarily.
The Andy Muschietti Problem: More Familiar Failure
Compounding concerns surrounding Batman: The Brave and the Bold is the fact that Andy Muschietti is still, at least officially, attached to direct the film. While rumors have circulated for months that Muschietti may no longer be actively involved, DC Studios has never formally announced his departure from the project.
Director Andy Muschietti doing press for IT – YouTube, SyFy
If Muschietti does remain in the director’s chair, the decision represents yet another instance of doubling down on failure.
Muschietti previously directed The Flash. The film suffered not only from massive box office losses, but from a prolonged public relations crisis tied to its star, Ezra Miller, whose string of legal controversies and erratic behavior dominated headlines for more than a year leading up to release.
Rather than distancing himself from the controversy, Muschietti repeatedly defended Miller in interviews, framing the actor as misunderstood and advocating for his continued involvement in future projects. Those comments did little to reassure audiences or investors already wary of DC’s judgment and crisis management.
Ezra Miller at San Diego Comic Con – Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Taken together, the potential pairing of Muschietti and Christina Hodson — the director and writer behind The Flash — suggests that DC Studios is not meaningfully reassessing the creative leadership responsible for some of its most damaging recent failures. Instead, it appears to be recycling it.
For a Batman film intended to anchor an entirely new cinematic universe, that seems very reckless.
Doubling Down Instead of Course Correcting
Supporters of Gunn will argue that a writer should not be judged solely by studio interference or broader franchise turmoil. That argument might hold water if this were a lesser property — or if Hodson had demonstrated clear success elsewhere within the DC ecosystem.
But that’s not the case.
Ezra Miller as The Flash in The Flash – YouTube, DC
Every major DC project Hodson has touched has either failed outright or become emblematic of DC’s broader identity crisis. Rather than course-correcting, Gunn appears to be doubling down on the same creative pipeline that delivered those outcomes.
This is especially notable given that Gunn himself is attempting to sell the DCU as something new. Something different. Something that will finally compete with Marvel on a consistent basis.
Yet this hiring decision suggests continuity — not change.
A Warning Sign for the DCU’s Future
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is not just another movie on the slate. It is a signal. It tells audiences, investors, and longtime fans what kind of decision-making will define the new DC Studios era.
By tapping Christina Hodson, James Gunn is effectively asking audiences to trust that past results no longer matter — even when those results include some of the most damaging failures in DC film history.
Val Kilmer suits up as Batman in Batman Forever – YouTube, Movieclips
That is a bold ask. And not necessarily in the way DC intended.
If Gunn’s DCU falters again, this decision will be remembered as an early warning — a moment when the studio had every opportunity to pivot, and instead chose familiarity over proven success.
How do you feel about this announcement of a Batman: The Brave and The Bold writer? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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