There are several highly anticipated upcoming DC movies, but there’s one that fans have really been hyping up for a while now. I’m talking about Matt Reeves’ The Batman sequel, which will continue the journey of Robert Pattinson’s titular vigilante. Unfortunately, it was just revealed that the film had been delayed again, as it shifted from a 2026 release date to one marked for 2027. As fans express their disappointment on social media, DC Studios’ James Gunn is addressing their concerns about a long gap between films.
Originally referred to as The Batman – Part II, the film was originally set to hit theaters sometime in 2025, before Warner Bros. slotted it for October 2, 2026. Reports that dropped at the end of this past week, however, revealed that the film wouldn’t hit cinemas until October 1, 2027 as part of a larger schedule shakeup for WB. With this, by the time the film is released, over five and a half years will have passed since its 2022 predecessor.
Eventually, a number of fans took to social media to express their displeasure. Some seemed particularly concerned about the large gap of time between the two major releases. That may be partially due to the fact that Matt Reeves’ franchise has seemingly relied on a tight timeline, with the events of The Penguin kicking off only a week after The Batman and its sequel set to take place shortly after the aforementioned TV spinoff. Still, James Gunn took to Threads to share some points in response to the chatter:
To be fair, a 5 year gap or more is fairly common in sequels. 7 years between Alien and Aliens. 14 years between Incredibles. 7 years between the first two Terminators. 13 years between Avatars. 36 years between Top Guns. And, of course, 6 years between Guardians Vol 2 and Vol 3.
It’s true that the sequels mentioned above did indeed have major gaps in between releases. Of course, good films also take immense time to percolate. However, as a fan, even I have to admit that the gap between the Caped Crusader films is quite significant. Also, in regard to James Gunn’s assessment, one could argue that what makes this situation different is that The Batman 2 was announced over a month after the first film debuted. On the other hand, the statuses of some of those legacy sequels remained unclear for years before they were formally confirmed to the public.
This wasn’t the only statement that the Belko Experiment scribe shared about Matt Reeves’ much-discussed film, which was recently subject to production rumors regarding Robert Pattinson’s availability. Before sharing his comments on sequels, the DC Studios co-head also took to Threads to confirm the delay report and issue a statement about the status of the film’s script:
Sure. Yes, it is true. The only reason for the delay is there isn’t a full script (those of you who follow me here probably know that already). Matt is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write. Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films.
Regardless of how you’re feeling about the news, the general public is indeed going to have to wait a few more years to see Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader take to the skies on the big screen again. I’m hopeful that lightning will strike twice, and Matt Reeves will deliver another stellar film. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go sit in a chair and wait patiently for the moment I can buy my ticket for the film.
While you wait for the movie, check out both The Batman and The Penguin using a Max subscription. You can also read up on other upcoming superhero movies.