Production has now resumed on The Batman - Part II, with Steven Soderbergh stepping behind the camera to finish principal photography after writer-director Matt Reeves was forced to leave the set to deal with an ongoing family matter.
"Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II," Reeves clarified on social media after the news broke. "I am profoundly grateful to Steven for coming to my aid during this challenging time to help me finish principal photography. Thank you to all for your concern and well wishes."
Now, star Robert Pattinson has shared his thoughts on Soderbergh stepping in to help finish the film.
"I am so happy he's come on to help Matt," the Primetime star tells GamesRadar. "It's incredibly generous of him – and he's doing it in the loveliest way. It's completely selfless."
"I think Matt had put so much work into the script, and we're almost done," Pattinson continued. "So for someone to come in and say, 'I just want to help Matt do it; I want to do it in conjunction with him and just get it to the edit.' And to have someone who's as talented as Steven doing it is great."
Pattinson also confirmed that cameras are rolling again. "I think they're in production already. And I'm starting in a couple of days."
DC Studios previously revealed that Soderbergh was the one who approached Reeves with the offer of help. Reeves is believed to have completed around two-thirds of the film, so the Ocean's Eleven director does still have a bit of work ahead of him.
Recent set videos showed Pattinson's Bruce Wayne making his way through a crowd of angry protestors as he leaves a Gotham City courthouse. Some of the signs being held said: “Court of Fowls, I'm coming for you next, Your Greed is Killing Us, Oligarchs gotta go, The richer get richer, Eat the rich, One day the poor will have nothing," and "Re$i$t.”
The Waynes have always represented the elite in Gotham City, but the family was generally well-regarded by the working class. We're not sure exactly what Bruce did to change this, but it seems clear that he is no longer a very popular figure.
Could the actions of The Court of Owls or Anarky be behind this negative perception of Billionaire Bruce? (more here).
When Sebastian Stan's casting was announced, the trades indicated that he would play Harvey Dent/Two-Face, but this was never confirmed, and rumors later circulated that he'd actually been cast as deranged serial killer Victor Zsasz.
As for Scarlett Johansson, there are rumors that she will play a version of Poison Ivy. A blonde woman many believe to be the actress' stunt double was recently spotted riding shotgun in the Batmobile. The same woman was then seen standing with a mysterious child as Wayne was being resuscitated by Alfred.
Earlier this year, Reeves officially announced the movie's main cast on social media.
The filmmaker confirmed that Robert Pattinson (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Jeffrey Wright (Jim Gordon), Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth), Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb/The Penguin), Jayme Lawson (Bella Réal) and Gil Perez-Abraham (Officer Martinez) will reprise their roles, alongside new cast members Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Charles Dance, Sebastian Koch and Brian Tyree Henry.
Reeves did not reveal the characters Gotham City's new additions will play.
After several previous delays, The Batman - Part II was scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 1, 2027, but was recently pushed back to February 18, 2028.