Today brings disappointing news for Batman and DC fans. Warner Bros. has announced that The Batman Part II has been delayed by a full year. The reason for the delay has not been revealed but the wait for the return of Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader just got a whole lot longer. This now means it will be more than four full years between The Batman and its sequel. For a hit comic book movie centered on one of the most popular superheroes in the world, that’s a long time.
According to Deadline, The Batman sequel will now hit theaters on October 2, 2026. It had previously been set to arrive on October 3, 2025. That release date is now occuped by Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride. Reeves, for the time being, is still on board to direct the movie. Given that The Batman was a massive hit, taking in $772 million worldwide, it’s no surprise that WB would like to keep him on board. Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps at this time.
The Batman 2 was first announced by Warner Bros. in April 2022. The studio, quite frankly, didn’t want long to confirm that Reeves and Pattinson would reunite for another adventure in Gotham City. The first film was met with a great deal of critical praise in addition to being a hit at the box office. The script has been in development ever since. It’s unclear how far along the story is, or what might be causing the hold up. That said, this is coming at an interesting time for the larger DC Universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took over as the co-head of DC Studios last year alongside Peter Safran. They are now going to steer a total reboot of the franchise. The whole thing kicks off with Gunn’s Superman: Legacy next year. Gunn will be casting new actors in all of the main roles. This includes finding a new Batman for the upcoming movie The Brave and the Bold. But that movie will exist in addition to Reeves’ version of the character. They will live in spearate universes in the larger DC multiverse.
Even so, it could be that trying to make room for both Batmen has become complicated. Reeves, aside from the sequel, has rather ambitious plans. There are multiple TV spin-offs in the works, including one that will be set in Arkham Asylum. Another one premiering in 2025 is centered on Colin Farrell’s Penguin. Again, to what degree Gunn and Safran’s reboot has impacted these projects remains to be seen.
The Batman Part II is set to hit theaters on October 2, 2026.
What do you think? Are you disappointed about the delay? Who do you hope the villain is in the sequel? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
