The Batman 2: Everything we know about the DC superhero sequel

Following the success of The Batman in 2022, a sequel from Warner Bros. Pictures was inevitable. Even the revamped DC Studios led by James Gunn and Peter Safran won’t derail director Matt Reeves’ plans for The Batman 2, which has been officially titled The Batman Part II.

Robert Pattinson will once again portray Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman. Beyond that, several questions remain about the upcoming sequel. To sort out the facts from the rumors, we’ve compiled this roundup that shares everything we know about The Batman Part II so far.

When does The Batman Part II come out?

The Batman Part II was initially supposed to be released on October 3, 2025. Unfortunately, The Batman Part II has been delayed by nearly a year, pushing the premiere to October 6, 2026. Yes, it will be at least two-and-a-half years before we get to see Robert Pattinson suit up again, which marks a four-and-a-half-year span between the original and the sequel.

This delay isn’t surprising since Warner Bros. Pictures announced the film’s October 2025 debut in January 2023, five months before the writers’ strike kicked off six months of labor disputes in Hollywood. On the film’s old date, The Bride!, director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s reworking of Bride of Frankenstein will be released by Warner Bros. That film stars former Dark Knight Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, and Penelope Cruz.

The original plan was for The Batman Part II to begin production in November 2023. However, production has not started yet, and no new cast members have been announced.

There were unconfirmed reports that the film began shooting in March 2024, but the month has passed without any response from Warner Bros. Despite this, insider Jeff Sneider claims that The Batman Part II will start filming in April 2025 and that the cast will be announced in fall 2024, but this report should still be taken with a grain of salt.

How does The Penguin fit into The Batman Part II?

Although The Penguin was originally described as a prequel to The Batman, it has subsequently been revealed to take place almost immediately after the first movie.

“In the movie, the election day was November 7th,” explains Reeves during an interview with Collider. “This takes place a week after that, after Bella Reál has been elected but is now Mayor-Elect Bella Reál. We’re in the aftermath of all that flooding. The wealthier neighborhoods, of course, have gotten the aid they needed, and in Crown Point — and other areas of desperation — they’re not getting the help they need. That is the void Oz steps into when he decides to make his moves. The story plays out, really, over the next weeks that take you toward the end of the year. I don’t think we quite get to play Christmas or New Year’s, but we’re getting there.”

Reeves also stressed that while The Penguin does lead into The Batman Part II, it isn’t required viewing for anyone. The events of the sequel will stand on their own.

“Here’s the thing, I think that in terms of it being an epic crime saga, it is something that’s deepened by watching all of it,” Reeves said. “But the truth of the matter is that each one, of course, needs to live on its own. So The Batman lives on its own, The Penguin series lives on its own, The Batman Part II will live on its own, but it will be deepened. You won’t have to be prepared for what happened, you’ll just understand that that’s the entry point of where this character is coming in. The events that unfold are unfolding in a way where it’s not like, ‘Oh, gee, I needed to see those eight episodes of that show or I don’t understand what’s going on.’ It doesn’t really work that way.”

How does The Penguin’s ending set up The Batman Part II?

Indeed, Oz ends up where he set out to be at the end of The Batman. The Penguin shows him defeating his enemies, including Sofia Falcone, and taking control of Gotham’s criminal underworld, making him a force to be reckoned with in the city. This will surely make him a huge villain for the Dark Knight to contend with in The Batman Part II.

Is The Penguin’s Sofia Falcone going to be in The Batman Part II?

Following Cristin Milioti’s acclaimed performance in The Penguin as Sofia Falcone, insider “MyTimeToShineHello” shared on X that Sofia will allegedly have a “big role” in The Batman Part II. Considering Sofia has made a terrifying rise to power in Gotham throughout The Penguin, it would be almost impossible not to acknowledge her character in Batman’s next film.

Audiences last saw Sofia in The Penguin imprisoned once more at Arkham Asylum thanks to Oz. While there, she received a letter from Selina Kyle/Catwoman, revealing she is her half-sister through Carmine Falcone. This sets up both Sofia and Selina having huge roles in The Batman Part II. They could even team up due to the fact that they’re sisters who were both wronged by their father, Carmine.

Will there be more TV spinoffs from The Batman?

Reeves has previously mentioned two other spinoffs from The Batman, one centered around the Gotham City Police Department and the other around Arkham Asylum. Although no other shows are currently lined up, Reeves told Collider: “We are talking about doing more — I think it would be really fun.”

What’s the status of The Batman Part II’s script?

In a separate interview with EW, Reeves confirmed that The Batman Part II‘s script has been finished, and production is on schedule to begin in early 2025. He also teased the way that The Penguin leads into the sequel.

“Oz does become one of the entry points into the movie,” Reeves said. “I can’t tell you where it goes from there, except to say that we’re super excited about it.”

Will Barry Keoghan be back as the Joker?

Keoghan’s cameo as the Joker was one of the most-talked about moments of The Batman. But since the scene obscured Keoghan’s face, it gives Reeves the chance to recast the role if he chooses to. Keoghan was recently asked about coming back during a feature with Variety, and his answer was elusive at best.

“I can’t say much,” Keoghan said. “The camera is looking right at me. We’ll see where that goes. Again, it was an incredible experience … and yeah, I can’t say.”

What’s the plot of The Batman Part II?

It’s simply too soon to say. There’s no confirmation as to who the primary villain will be or what’s happening beyond the continued evolution of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Batman ended with Pattinson’s Dark Knight seen in a more heroic light by the people of Gotham City, so the sequel will presumably start with that status quo.

One strong possibility is that the sequel will show the Dark Knight facing off against Thomas Elliot, a.k.a. Hush. Once a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, this villain is famous for teaming up with the Riddler and having multiple other villains help them battle and torment Batman with his knowledge of the hero’s true identity.

The Batman did have the Riddler reveal that Bruce’s father inadvertently caused the death of a reporter named Edward Elliot, who may very well be Hush’s father. Combined with rumors that Hush will appear in the film, it seems likely that The Batman Part II will depict the villain seeking vengeance from Bruce for his father’s role in Edward’s murder.

What villains are rumored to be in The Batman Part II?

Matt Reeves confirmed to SFX magazine that Colin Farrell’s Penguin will be part of the movie. However, he also shot down fans’ hopes of the supervillain Gentleman Ghost appearing in the sequel, stating that the character wouldn’t fit with the world of the franchise.

“What was important to me was to find a way to take these pop icons, these mythical characters that everybody knows, and translate it so that Gotham feels like a place in our world. We might push to the edge of the fantastical, but we would never go into full fantastical. It’s meant to feel quite grounded,” Reeves said.

There are other rumors that the villains Clayface, Professor Pyg, and Scarecrow will show up in the sequel, along with Batman’s young ward Dick Grayson/Robin. Though Robin technically appeared in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, this could be Grayson’s first live-action appearance in a film since 1997’s Batman & Robin.

Despite these claims, Gunn took to Threads to deny the rumor that Pyg and Scarecrow will join Hush, Clayface, and Robin in Part 2. However, this statement implies the latter three characters will make their debut in the franchise.

Who has been cast in The Batman Part II?

When Warner Bros. announced The Batman Part II in April 2022, only Pattinson was confirmed to return as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Regardless, the following cast members will almost definitely be back: Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. Farrell is also starring in Max’s spinoff series, The Penguin, which will chronicle Cobblepot’s rise to the top of Gotham’s criminal underworld and possibly lead into the sequel film.

Zoë Kravitz could return as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, but it’s also possible that Reeves will hold off on her return to give Bruce a new love interest. Barry Keoghan had a brief cameo as The Joker in The Batman, which established his possible alliance with Paul Dano’s Riddler. While neither Keoghan nor Dano have been confirmed for the sequel, the former actor neither confirmed nor denied that his Clown Prince of Crime will appear, implying there is still more to come from him.

Harvey Dent/Two-Face was rumored to be the main antagonist of The Batman Part II, with actor Boyd Holbrook (Logan) said to have been hired to portray the iconic villain. However, James Gunn has since debunked those rumors on Threads.

Is there a trailer for The Batman Part II?

No. In fact, now that the film has been delayed to 2026, audiences likely won’t see a trailer until around mid-2025.

Jeffrey Wright hasn’t seen a script yet

Don’t hold your breath waiting for The Batman 2 to hit theaters… or even to start shooting. One of the first film’s key actors set to return hasn’t even read a completed script yet. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the freshly Oscar-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright commented that he has yet to see a Batman 2 screenplay.

“You’ve seen as much of a script as I have at this point,” said Wright, who played Batman’s ally James Gordon in the 2022 film. “I don’t want to jump ahead. I just want to go forward with it.”

“Clearly, I’m Lieutenant Gordon at the end of the film, the first film, so we may be moving up in the ranks, I suppose, but I haven’t seen anything yet,” he added. “I’m being patient, letting [director] Matt Reeves do his thing — which is going to be magical and wonderful — and looking forward to diving back into it when the time comes.”

James Gunn says Matt Reeves is still working on the script

On Threads, Gunn responded to a fan asking for a status update on Reeves’s script for The Batman Part II. Gunn confirmed that Reeves is still working on the screenplay. When pushed to reveal a finish date, Gunn replied, “When Matt thinks it’s ready.” If filming is rumored to start at the beginning of 2025, expect Reeves to complete his script by the fall of 2024.

Andy Serkis shares filming update on The Batman Part II

In an interview with Popverse, Serkis said he hasn’t seen a script for The Batman Part II. However, Serkis believes the sequel’s screenplay will be “brilliant” because of his affinity for Reeves. Serkis then predicted The Batman Part II’s start date for filming and when fans can expect it in theaters.

“Basically, I know nothing about the movie other than that I’ve just found out that we’re probably likely to be starting filming early next year,” Serkis said. “Therefore, if you do the math, it’ll be a year and a half after that.”

Will the sequel connect to James Gunn’s DC Universe?

Since James Gunn has set up an entire lineup of interconnected films and TV shows for DC, The Batman‘s place in relation to this new cinematic universe has been called into question. The Batman was produced before Gunn and Peter Safran became the heads of DC Studios, so Reeves’ franchise will remain separate from the new DC Universe.

Reeves revealed to Entertainment Weekly that The Batman, its sequels, and its spinoffs will exist in a separate universe called “The Batman Epic Crime Saga.” Based on this statement, audiences shouldn’t expect to see David Corenswet’s Superman encounter Pattinson’s Dark Knight on the big screen.