You had a sense when DC gave a Batman villain film a release date weeks before an actual Batman movie something was changing. And now it has. The Batman Part II, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson, has been pushed back another year. It’s now scheduled for release on October 1, 2027. It was previously scheduled for release October 2, 2026 as well as October 2025.
The release date news, reported by Deadline, also came with a few non-DC tidbits. That October 2026 date will now feature an upcoming project from director Alejandro González Iñárritu and star Tom Cruise, while 2025 sees a few genre films shift around. Another Pattinson film, Mickey 17, is moving up a few weeks to March 7 while the Ryan Coogler/Michael B. Jordan vampire film Sinners is shifting back to April 18.
As for The Batman Part II though, the writing had kind of been on the wall for a while. Rumors about the delay spread recently with chatter that DC Studios co-president James Gunn had yet to see a finished draft from Reeves followed by Gunn and team dating Clayface, written by Mike Flanagan, for release on September 11, 2026, weeks before The Batman. When io9 asked Gunn about the timing, he seemed unfazed because Clayface and Reeves’ Batman are in different universes. But, now, his movie has a Batmanless path ahead as audiences have to wait even longer for the return of Batman.
So what’s happening with The Batman Part II? Well, we’ve heard that Reeves is just being very protective and meticulous with the script and doesn’t want to get moving until it’s something he’s really happy with. That perfectionism, coupled with James Gunn and Peter Safran coming in and taking over DC, which will certainly include Batman, can’t have been easy. Originally, the plan was for Reeves’ Batman to be part of an Elseworlds saga—removed from the central DC Universe—with a new DC Batman coming in The Brave and the Bold.
But just this week, that film’s director, Andy Muschietti, said he’s probably making another movie first since things have been delayed. Couple that with rumors suggesting a shift might happen that would see Pattinson’s Batman join the DC Universe and, well, things get murky. That’s speculative and unconfirmed but, it’s out there. And why wouldn’t it be? With The Batman Part II now potentially taking five years to hit theaters, do DC and Warner Bros. really want to go over a decade without Batman in their films? Probably not.
For now though, Reeves and team bought themselves another year to make sure they’re giving us the best Bat sequel since The Dark Knight. And we damn sure hope it is. Because with each year-long delay, excitement and anticipation wane. At least we have The Penguin.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
