And just like that, we went from Batman surpluses to deficits. But maybe that’s only natural.
According to Deadline, Warner Bros. is moving Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 from October 2, 2026 to October 1, 2027. Those looking forward to Andy Muschietti’s (It) different Batman film, The Brave And The Bold (which is set to be a part of James Gunn’s DCU reboot), are also feeling the cold slap of disappointment. Comic Book is reporting that Muschietti recently said that film has been “postponed a little bit” during an interview on California Secreta.
Why the Dark Knight dry spell? Who knows. Scripts take time to finesse, scheduling matters happen, etc. Maybe this frees Reeves up for season 2 of The Penguin?
Realistically, going five years without isn’t even that extreme. It took four years between Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises. We’ve just gotten used to being inundated by capes, cowls, and super synergy with Batmen appearances in 2016 (Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice AND Suicide Squad), 2017 (Justice League), 2021 (Zack Snyder’s Justice League re-cut), 2022 (The Batman), and 2023 (The Flash). That’s a lot, and that doesn’t even count the 100 episodes of FOX’s Gotham, which ran from 2014 to 2019, the 30 episodes spent telling the origin story of Batman’s butler, Alfred, from 2019 to 2022 in MAX’s Pennyworth, or the canceled Batgirl film.
How many of those appearances were good and/or memorable?
It’s not like DC fans are going to be left dry. Gunn’s aforementioned Superman is on the horizon, releasing July 11, 2025. There’s also Peacemaker season 2 and the first season of the Aaron Pierce/Kyle Chandler starring Lanterns series. That’s a less breakneck rollout than we’ve become accustomed to, but what we were getting accustomed to was an oversaturated marketplace where projects were coming out cursed by sameness only to get lost in the crowd. Allowing a breath and a more deliberate pace isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just a little hard to adjust to.
An interesting thing to ponder, especially right now in the time of year when we don’t have a lot of things to dissect, is whether we’re actually going to see Robert Pattinson play the part of The Batman again. This is, I will caution, the height of hollow speculation based on zero actual evidence. The answer to the question posed is likely, “of course we are, just be patient!” But come along with me and let’s waste some time.
Sometimes things get delayed into oblivion and the best-laid plans and well-laid-out strategies unravel with market shifts. Ask Ben Affleck about his own planned solo Batman film as writer, director, and star. Delayed and then dead.
October 2027 is a long way away – nearly three years. Pattinson is an in-demand actor. He’s already filmed Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi film Mickey 17 and found a way to work in a role in Nolan’s upcoming re-telling of The Odyssey along with half of Hollywood. I’m finding it hard to believe the recent rumor du jour that Nosferatu director Robert Eggers would actually remake Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, but his Lighthouse star, Pattinson, would make an interesting Goblin King, wouldn’t he? What I’m saying is, Pattinson has a habit of working with the best and most interesting filmmakers, and an actor only has so many roles to play. Maybe the timing starts to become more a square peg for a round hole. This is both conjecture and a valid point. I’ll also say I can’t imagine the Reeves films surviving a casting change. Not in this superhero fatigued climate.
As it is, the idea of having multiple Batman franchises at a time when there’s a target on the backs of these kinds of projects feels a little suboptimal. Certainly less optimal than when Gunn picked up the baton for the DCU with much fanfare and an ambitious slate that’s still coming together. One that was confirmed almost two years ago in January of 2023.
On one hand, the death of the genre has been greatly exaggerated. On the other, healthy genres don’t need to pump the brakes after a period of over-drive or herald the arrival of past-gen comic book movie auteurs like Gunn and the Russo Bros as saviors.
People still show up and feel a buzz over these projects. Deadpool & Wolverine’s box office showed that, as did the reception for The Penguin and the success of Reeves’ first Batman film. But the Kraven box office and the critical and commercial failure of Joker: Folie à Deux reminds us there are limits. That last one, which feels more aligned with the darker tone and higher creative ambition of Reeves’ universe, might be key.
There’s an assumed vibe to Gunn’s DCU, one with more lightness and comic book fidelity. Assumed is doing a lot of listing, but Reeves’ Gotham world wouldn’t easily crossover… in as far as we can tell from a movie, a season of television, and a trailer. And that’s fine, it’s exciting.
As has been pointed out and demonstrated, people are down to explore comic book-based shows and films with multiple tonal flavors. Multiverse and Elseworlds stories that use these characters to tell fantastic stand-alone stories are something of a nerd dream, lifted directly from the comics. It’s also a potential saving grace for the overall creativity of the genre in that it can unshackle filmmakers from the larger mission statement of these interconnected universes. But… the rightness of all that doesn’t mean studio executives are able or willing to understand or trust it, especially when the track record is prone to skips and stutters. Especially when the studio in question has cancelled near-completed films and fumbled the transition from one universe to another so epically across multiple films.
More than likely, these delays should be taken at face value and we’ll see both Battinson and whomever Gunn, Muschietti, and company pick to be frustrated by Batman’s bastard son Damian in Brave And The Bold and other in-universe larks sometime in the next few years. But… it’s hard to not at least question the sturdiness of a future pushed further away, all things considered.