While James Gunn’s Superman is the first feature film in the new DC Universe (DCU), there are plenty of other Elseworlds stories for DC Studios to explore that take place outside the new canon. Enter Matt Reeves’ The Batman, a film released in 2022, at a time when the future of DC Comics films was uncertain as Gunn and Peter Safran had not yet gained creative leadership over the franchise. Despite the new plans and groundwork being done for future DC Studios projects, Reeves’ iteration of the World’s Greatest Detective is still of importance to Gunn.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly to promote the upcoming release of Superman, Gunn briefly spoke about the future of his DC Universe, which includes new actors playing Batman and Wonder Woman who will hopefully one day interact with Corenswet’s Man of Steel. However, that doesn’t mean that Reeves’ Batman, played by Robert Pattinson, will be pushed to the wayside. Gunn said that “what Matt’s doing is still really important, despite all stories to the contrary. We’re supposed to see that script shortly, and I can’t wait.” The script in question is for The Batman – Part II (or The Batman 2), the sequel to highly successful 2022 movie.
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Updates on The Batman sequel and its story have been scarce, with Reeves promising the story will take Bruce Wayne/Batman “he couldn’t even anticipate in the first one.” While there hasn’t been a direct sequel made since 2022, DC Studios did release The Penguin. This limited series focuses on Colin Farrell’s gangster character, Oswald “Oz” Cobb, introduced in The Batman.
‘The Batman II’ Will Hopefully Be Worth the Wait
The timetable for production on The Batman – Part II remains uncertain. Robert Pattinson recently mentioned at the premiere of his film, Mickey 17, that filming would hopefully begin at the end of the year. Despite those comments, there is still no set start date. However, James Gunn’s statement that he’s looking forward to reading the script for the sequel soon seems to indicate that pre-production could begin sooner rather than later. The ending of The Batman saw Gotham City fundamentally changed by the attacks of the Riddler (Paul Dano), with The Penguin limited series establishing Oz as the new crime boss in the city.
The rumored list of villains for The Batman 2 has been extensive as well, with the likes of Hush, Mr. Freeze, and even The Court of Owls are all mentioned in various reports and rumors about the upcoming sequel. Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see how the release of the film lines up with whatever Gunn has planned for his version of Batman in the mainline DCU. While there were rumors about integrating Pattinson’s Batman into the new canon, those reports have since been denied by Gunn, who has reiterated time and again that Reeves’ vision is independent of the future of the DCU.
For now, patience is the name of the game as fans of Reeves and the Caped Crusader wait for more updates on The Batman – Part II. With a tentative release date of Oct. 1, 2027, a little over five years after the release of the first film. While that is an excruciatingly long wait for a continuation to a movie as phenomenal as The Batman, the fact that Matt Reeves and his creative team are taking their time with the project is a good indication that they want to do the film justice, and perhaps make it as good if not better than the first.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
