Reports suggest that development on The Batman Part 2 may be stalling, with no confirmed production start or updated release date. There is growing uncertainty about whether Robert Pattinson will reprise his role as the Dark Knight. This delay could have significant implications for the future of DC Studios under James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Colin Farrell, who played the Penguin in The Batman, was reportedly in talks for a different DC project, the war film Sgt. Rock, but that seems to have fallen apart. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson is currently filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and is rumored to be considering a villain role in Dune 3. He has stated that plans were to film The Batman Part 2 after finishing The Odyssey, but with other projects now vying for his attention, that timeline is becoming less certain.
Since Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios in late 2022, they have made clear that Reeves’ The Batman exists outside the main DC Universe, in what they call the “Elseworlds” category. As the sequel faces delays, the situation grows more complicated. Fans are left with the prospect of two Batmen—Pattinson in Reeves’ universe and a new Batman in Gunn’s upcoming The Brave and the Bold—competing for attention and confusing audiences.
Industry observers note that similar situations have occurred before. When Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was shelved, it allowed Marvel and Sony to introduce Tom Holland’s Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The result was a unified franchise that performed well at the box office. The shift from Zack Snyder’s vision for the Justice League to Gunn’s The Suicide Squad also demonstrated how studios sometimes need to make tough decisions to reset their franchises.
Gunn has commented publicly on the challenges of bringing Batman into the new DC Universe. He told Rolling Stone, “Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally. 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.”
He also addressed rumors about Pattinson’s Batman potentially joining the main DC Universe. “It would be a consideration. We’d have to think about it. We’d have to think about it. It is not like we’ve never discussed it,” Gunn said. He explained that the goal is to make the new Batman distinct from Reeves’ version, but not campy or comedic. Gunn said, “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.”
The Brave and the Bold is currently in development, with Andy Muschietti set to direct. The script is still being written, and Gunn has described Batman as his “biggest issue” in shaping the new DC Universe. He has hinted that discussions about Pattinson’s future as Batman are ongoing, but nothing has been decided.
If The Batman Part 2 does not move forward, it could open the door for Gunn to integrate Pattinson’s Batman into the main DC Universe. This would resolve the issue of having two separate Batmen but would likely mean the end of Reeves’ standalone vision. For now, the situation remains unresolved, and fans are left waiting for clarity on the future of Batman on the big screen.
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