The Batman 2 finally begins shooting in spring 2026, Warner Bros. has confirmed, while committing to a 2027 release.
Matt Reeves’ self-contained DC universe is called the ‘Batman Epic Crime Saga.’ This so far includes 2022’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, and HBO Max series The Penguin, which sees Colin Farrell reprise his role as Oz Cobb.
In a financial report, Warner Bros. confirmed The Batman 2 is “preparing to begin shooting next spring,” and reiterated the 2027 release window. The Batman II currently has an Oct 1, 2027 release date.
The Penguin is set one week after The Batman and leads into the events of the upcoming The Batman 2, whose script everyone and their dog (DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn included!) had been waiting on with a great deal of anticipation. That script is finally complete.
In the same financial report, Warner Bros. suggested The Penguin Season 2 is in the works (“The 10-year vision for the DC universe also includes an exciting array of television projects, including The Penguin…”). This comes despite Colin Farrell recently insisting Penguin Season 2 was not currently in the works. But in the same breath he pointed to The Batman 2 and even namechecked the so-far unannounced Batman 3, so perhaps he was just being coy.
Indeed, Reeves has said he set out to make a trilogy of Batman films, and as of last year that plan was still on, but given how long it’s taken to get The Batman 2 going (if it does come out in October 2027, it’ll arrive five-and-a-half years after The Batman), the idea of The Batman 3 following in a timely fashion feels tricky.
And then we have to take into consideration Gunn’s own plans for the DC Universe’s Batman. While promoting the rebooted DCU kickstarter Superman earlier this year, Gunn admitted: “Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now.”
In February, Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed The Brave and the Bold will introduce a new Batman into the DCU, ruling out Pattinson crossing the streams in the process. At the time, Safran and Gunn said Pattinson would play Batman in Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga only.
So what does the prospect of The Batman 2 in 2027 and The Batman 3 coming out after mean for the timing of The Brave and the Bold? Gunn faces the potentially confusing situation of having two actors playing Batman in movies across two different DC universes.
As of February, The Brave and the Bold was said to be in “very active development,” and the story was “coming together very nicely.” But is The Flash director Andy Muschietti still directing? Gunn and Safran are developing the script, and will show it to Muschietti “when we have it in a place where we think it’s ready to go… and see if it’s a fit for him,” Safran said earlier this year. “I’m very, very actively involved in that script,” Gunn said, also earlier this year.
Speaking more recently on Batman, Gunn said he’s not actually writing The Brave and the Bold, but is working with an unnamed writer to “get it right.”
“Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally,” he said. “And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right, because he’s incredibly important to DC, as is Wonder Woman.
“So outside of the stuff that I’m doing in the projects that are actively going, our two priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman and our Batman scripts.”
Gunn then discussed in vague terms the kind of Batman he’s going for — or, perhaps it would be better to say the kind of Batman he’s trying to avoid.
“Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be, ‘Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,’ which he is. But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman.
“But yet he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really. So we’re dealing with that. I think I have a way in, by the way. I think I really know what it’s — I just am dealing with the writer to make sure that we can make it a reality.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
