James Gunn Weighs In on Fan Campaign for a Sam Raimi Batman Movie
James Gunn hears the Bat-signal: he knows Sam Raimi wants to direct Batman. With Darkman, the Spider-Man trilogy, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on his reel—and new horror Send Help on the way—fans are already imagining what his Gotham could look like.
Sam Raimi says he wants a shot at Batman, and yes, James Gunn saw the posts about it. Whether that actually leads anywhere is a whole other thing, but the conversation around it got loud (and a little funny) fast.
Raimi is game for the Dark Knight (and he tried once already)
While doing press for his new horror movie 'Send Help,' which hits U.S. theaters this weekend, Raimi told MovieWeb he once tried to mount a Batman film but couldn’t land the rights. He also chased 'The Shadow' and ran into the same brick wall. Still, he clearly has DC on the brain and would jump in if the story felt honest to the character and the fans.
'I love Batman. I tried to make a Batman film. I couldn’t get the rights... If it was a story that had a real journey for that particular individual, then I’d love to make the movie.'
He also name-checked Superman as one of his favorites, and emphasized he’d want something that lives inside the character’s real world, not a take that leaves fans cold.
Why Raimi makes sense for capes
Raimi isn’t new to superheroes. He’s done the crowd-pleaser thing, the messy thing, and the gloriously weird thing. Quick refresher:
- Darkman (1990)
- Spider-Man (2002)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Point is, the man knows how to put a hero through the wringer and make it entertaining.
Gunn hears the chatter... and the spam
After Raimi’s comments, fans flooded James Gunn’s Instagram telling him, repeatedly, that Raimi wants to make a Batman movie. Gunn eventually jumped into the comments with a polite-but-pointed nudge.
'Doesn’t mean you have to spam.'
Translation: He got the memo. The memo does not need 30 copies.
So, could this happen?
Never say never, but DC already has two Bat-projects on the runway. Andy Muschietti is attached to direct the DCU’s 'The Brave and the Bold,' and Matt Reeves’ 'The Batman II' is slated for 2027. That’s a lot of cape and cowl already in motion.
If the stars ever align for a Raimi Batman, it would likely be down the line and only if the script nails that character-first journey he’s talking about. Until then, it’s a fun what-if — and a reminder that Raimi is very much open for business in the DC sandbox.