The Batman Part II: James Gunn Debunks New Villain Rumor

After the smash success and critical acclaim of 2022's The Batman, a sequel to the DC film is on the way. This time around, the film will be part of a more concerted DC Elseworlds branding from DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, as a way to differentiate the movies and TV shows that exist outside of their main DC Universe continuity. With production on The Batman Part II poised to begin at some point next year for a fall 2025 release date, rumors have begun to fly about the film's ensemble cast — and it looks like Gunn is putting a stop to some of them.

In a recent post on Threads, Gunn responded to recent rumors suggesting that Professor Pyg, Scarecrow, Clayface, Hush, and Dick Grayson are all expected to make appearances in The Batman Part II. In a single sentence, Gunn revealed that the rumors are "totally made up."

What Is The Batman Sequel About?

Matt Reeves is currently working on a sequel to The Batman, which he will direct and co-write with Robert Pattinson back in the titular role. Plot details regarding the project are currently a mystery, but Reeves has expressed excitement about working on the script.

"I mean, I can't give an update on that in terms of specifics, except to tell you that we are hard at work on the script," Reeves told ComicBook.com in an interview earlier this year. "My partner and I are deep in it and I'm excited about what we're going to do."

Is The Batman Getting a Spinoff?

In addition to the proper sequel, the saga of The Batman is set to be expanded upon with The Penguin, a Max-exclusive series centered around Colin Farrell's The Penguin. The series is confirmed to be making its debut on the streaming platform at some point in 2024, with an ensemble cast that also includes Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, as well as Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Deirdre O'Connell.

"I don't know that it's necessarily tentpole fatigue as much as it is a sameness of storytelling," HBO executive Casey Bloys explained in a recent appearance. "I think the key, even within DC, is trying to tell different stories in different styles, to not try to do the same show over and over and over again. I would say Peacemaker is a very different show tonally than The Penguin. So, there's not a uniformity to the storytelling and I think that helps. Unfortunately, Marvel, as good as their shows are, there's probably been a lot of them. That's one of the advantages we have at Warner Bros. is it's not just one set of stories. There's a lot of stories you can go to."

What do you think of James Gunn's new comments about The Batman Part II? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Batman Part II is set to be released exclusively in theaters on October 3, 2025.