The Batman: James Gunn Offers Update on Sequel Script

The Batman Part II is currently in the scripting stages, and DC Studios co-head James Gunn has offered a clear timeline on when that script will be finished: Whenever writer/director Matt Reeves says it is. 

Gunn was active on Threads (as usual), and did some quick Q&A with a DC fan about the status of The Batman 2. The fan asked, “Is the script for The Batman Part 2 still being worked on?” To which Gunn responded, “Yes.” A different fan chimed in, asking, “when do you suspect the script to be finished?” To which Gunn replied, “When Matt thinks it’s ready!” 

Matt Reeves is working with Mattson Tomlin (Project Power, Terminator Zero) on the script for The Batman 2. Story details have never been revealed, but there are some larger details of The Batman franchise that help give us some early indication. First, The Batman spinoff TV series Penguin will stream in 2024; that show will continue the story from the first film, as Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) tries to take over Gotham in the wake of Riddler’s attack and mob boss Carmine Falcone’s death.

“Matt is working on Batman 2, which he thinks of it as a Batman crime saga, which also includes the Penguin TV series,” Gunn said last year. “And it is its own thing, and he’s hard at work on that.”

However Penguin plays out, The Batman Part II will have to explore how Bruce Wayne/Batman (Robert Pattinson) tries to keep his mission in Gotham alive as the city is in a disastrous state. Fans have speculated that famous Batman storylines like “No Man’s Land” as possible inspirations for the sequel; meanwhile, villains like Clayface, and Harvey Dent/Two-Face have been rumored, as has the archvillain Hush, who has a chess-like way of turning Batman’s world against him. 

The Insneider claimed that The Batman sequel will begin production in April 2025, and new cast members are expected to be announced this fall. Originally there were reports that filming would begin in March 2024, due to last summer’s WGA writers’ strike. However, Warner Bros. has delayed The Batman 2 — from October 3, 2025, to October 2, 2026 — which has moved the start of production into 2025.

The Batman 2 will be one of the only projects standing apart for Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe franchise of interconnected films and TV shows, meaning that an entirely different Batman actor and franchise are on the way, as well. 

The Batman Part II has a release date of October 2, 2026.