Draft:The Batman – Part II

The Batman – Part II is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay he is co-writing with Mattson Tomlin, it is the sequel to The Batman (2022) and the second film in a planned Batman-focused shared universe. Robert Pattinson stars as Bruce Wayne / Batman, alongside Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.

Warner Bros. planned for The Batman to begin a new trilogy of Batman films and start a shared universe during development, and ideas for a sequel were discussed ahead of that film's release. A sequel to The Batman was announced in April 2022, when Reeves and Pattinson were confirmed to return, and Tomlin joined in August. After DC Studios was formed in November 2022, Reeves met with that studio to ensure his Batman films remained separate from its main franchise, the DC Universe. The title was announced in January 2023, before production was halted by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes and resumed later that year. Filming is scheduled to begin in April 2025 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, in the United Kingdom.

The Batman – Part II is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on October 2, 2026, as part of the "DC Elseworlds" label. A third film in the intended trilogy is in development.

Cast

 * Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A reclusive billionaire who obsessively protects Gotham City as a masked vigilante to cope with his traumatic past
 * Paul Dano as Edward Nashton / Riddler: A former forensic accountant who was inspired by Batman to become a serial killer
 * Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon: An ally of Batman in the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD)
 * Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth: Batman's butler and mentor
 * Colin Farrell as Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / Penguin: The disfigured former chief lieutenant of the deceased crime boss Carmine Falcone

Additionally, Barry Keoghan is expected to reprise his role as the Joker, an enemy of Batman who is incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital.

Background
Warner Bros. intended for the DC Comics–based film The Batman (2022) to be the first in a new trilogy of Batman films by May 2019, and key cast members were reported to have signed on for future films by that November. Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia was confirmed in September 2021 to be planning for The Batman to establish a Batman-focused shared universe, which would be separate from their other DC Comics franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The Batman director Matt Reeves had suggested to studio executives that a sequel to that film could further explore the Penguin character, but they instead wanted to use the idea for a spin-off series, which became The Penguin (2024). In December, star Robert Pattinson said he had ideas for developing his character Bruce Wayne / Batman in further films, while producer Dylan Clark said The Batman would lay a foundation for future films to build upon. Leading up to The Batman release in March 2022, Pattinson and Reeves expressed interest in introducing the character Robin and featuring the Court of Owls group or the characters Calendar Man, Mr. Freeze, and Hush as villains in a sequel.

Development
A sequel to The Batman was officially announced by Warner Bros. Pictures at its CinemaCon panel in April 2022. Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said the "entire team" would return from the first film, and that this included Pattinson to once again star as Batman and Reeves returning to write and direct. The director's involvement was not guaranteed and negotiations lasted longer than expected, in part due to the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. that was completed that month and formed Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). In August, Reeves signed an overall first-look film deal between his production company 6th & Idaho and Warner Bros., and renewed his deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios, where he was developing The Penguin and additional series for the streaming service HBO Max. Reeves's film deal was considered a reassurance in WBD committing to returning filmmakers, which came after that company had shelved the nearly-completed DCEU film Batgirl. At that time, Clark was set to produce the sequel to The Batman through his company Dylan Clark Productions, while Mattson Tomlin, an uncredited writer on the first film, was set to co-write the script with Reeves. The writing process was expected to begin in the following weeks.

After James Gunn and Peter Safran became the co-CEOs of DC Studios in November 2022, future projects for Reeves's The Batman shared universe were set to be overseen by that studio. Gunn had contacted the director about his projects by then, when The Batman sequel was not expected to release until 2025 at the earliest because Reeves was still working on the script. Gunn debunked reports the next month that he and Safran were exploring potentially incorporating Reeves's The Batman content with Pattinson in their DC shared universe plans, later explaining that they respected Reeves's decision to keep his shared universe separate from their new franchise, the DC Universe (DCU). Reeves met with Gunn and Safran in January 2023 to discuss how they could avoid their plans clashing, while the director confirmed that he and Tomlin were writing the script, and that The Penguin would establish a "little fabric" of plans that would lead into the sequel to The Batman; Sarah Aubrey, the head of originals for HBO Max, said that series would take place shortly before the events of the sequel. At the end of the month, the film was titled The Batman – Part II and was given a release date of October 3, 2025. Gunn said that the film, along with other projects that did not fit into the DCU, would be labeled as "DC Elseworlds" moving forward. This is the same as how DC Comics uses the Elseworlds imprint to mark comic books that are separate from the main continuity. By then, filming was scheduled to begin in November 2023, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, in the United Kingdom. Reeves confirmed Andy Serkis would reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth, while Barry Keoghan was reported to be reprising his role as the Joker, and Colin Farrell expressed interest in returning as the Penguin. By the end of March, the character Clayface was expected to be part of the film.

Filming was delayed by June 2023 due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike that began the prior month, and was reportedly planned to start in March 2024. This was not expected to impact the film's release date. At that time, Reeves and Tomlin were exploring how they could push the sequel farther from the first film, while the director had discussed the film with The Batman cinematographer Greig Fraser. Josh Hartnett and Joel Edgerton were reportedly being eyed for the role of Harvey Dent, with potential for the character to become his comic book alter-ego Two-Face by the end of the film. When the WGA strike ended in September 2023, Warner Bros. was expected to imminently resume pre-production work on the film. Gunn heard a pitch for the film by December, although the script was not ready then. By January 2024, filming was expected to begin between August and October 2024. while Jeffrey Wright said he would reprise his role as James Gordon. He had expressed interest in the character moving up from a lieutenant in the ranks of the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). Farrell and Paul Dano were reportedly returning by then, with Dano reprising his role as the Riddler. In March, the film's release was delayed to October 2, 2026, due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which had prevented further work on the script and reportedly caused several major stages intended for the production to be reserved through the end of 2024. Filming was then expected to begin in April 2025, with the release date chosen to allow Reeves more time to work on the film. In June 2024, Gunn said the script would be completed when Reeves believed it was ready, while Serkis confirmed that filming would begin in early 2025.

Filming
Principal photography is scheduled to begin in April 2025, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, in the United Kingdom. Filming was originally scheduled to begin on November 23, 2023, before it was delayed to an expected start in March 2024 because of the WGA strike, and was then expected to begin between August and October 2024.

Release
The Batman – Part II is scheduled to be theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on October 2, 2026, as part of the "DC Elseworlds" label. It was originally scheduled for release on October 3, 2025, before it was delayed due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.