By the time The Batman Part II is released, more than six years will have passed since the first instalment arrived in theaters in 2022. That's a huge gap between sequels, particularly for an IP as valuable as Batman.
With Matt Reeves forced to step away for personal reasons, Steven Soderbergh is directing the rest of the long-delayed sequel. No one has said what Reeves is going through, but there's obviously a risk this affects The Batman Part III (while the filmmaker is doing the right thing by prioritising his family, Hollywood—and fans—can be ruthless).
Puck's Matt Belloni has chimed in, saying he believes that The Batman sequel could mark Robert Pattinson's final time wearing the cape and cowl.
"Even before director Matt Reeves was temporarily replaced by Steven Soderbergh due to a personal issue, Reeves had fallen far behind on the project, which eventually pushed the release date to February 2028," Belloni writes. "It's hard to believe that Skydance, and its new DC president, Jeremy Latcham, will go down that path again."
"Indulging a lengthy timeline on the company's number one franchise is probably not an option for the debt-laden Skydance," he adds. "And without Reeves, Pattinson is unlikely to continue in the role."
While Nexus Point News reported last night that Skydance would like Pattinson to serve as the DCU's Batman (more on that for you soon), it seems James Bond 26 could be the deciding factor.
Belloni reveals that Amazon is eager for Pattinson to become the next 007, with a three-picture deal compared to the four-film commitment that would be required of Jack Lowden and Josh O'Connor. Pattinson is far more expensive than them, but is used to handling the pressure that comes with a big role and is obviously an A-list star (who has already worked with Denis Villeneuve on Dune: Part Three).
If Pattinson gets Bond, then Batman likely falls by the wayside. However, that could be beneficial to Skydance, which is eager to monetise the DC Universe and would like to get the Caped Crusader on screen as much as possible moving forward.
Directed by Matt Reeves and Steven Soderbergh from a script by him and Mattson Tomlin, The Batman Part II stars Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, Charles Dance, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, Sebastian Koch, and Brian Tyree Henry.
The Batman Part II is set to be released in theaters on February 18, 2028.