Following the news that filming had been halted on The Batman Part II while filmmaker Matt Reeves took some time to deal with a "family matter," it's now been confirmed that he will not finish shooting the movie.
Some second unit work continued after production was paused, but Ocean's Eleven, Magic Mike, and Black Bag director Steven Soderbergh has officially joined the sequel to finish principal photography. It's believed that Reeves will return to the director's chair for post-production ahead of the movie's planned 2028 release.
With well over a year until The Batman Part II arrives in theaters, why is a new director necessary? Well, with a film as big as this, schedules and shooting locations are hard to change, and if Reeves needs a lot of time away, then this may have been the only way to finish the movie.
"I thought Matt Reeves' work on The Batman was stunning; it was intentional, specific, and rigorously coherent," Soderbergh said in a statement. "The goal here is to work with Matt and his team to generate footage that will integrate seamlessly with what's already been shot so Matt can properly finish his film."
DC Studios added, "As Matt Reeves continues to attend to an ongoing family matter, Steven Soderbergh, as an admirer of Matt's work, approached Matt and will step in, with the full support of DC Studios, to help the writer-director complete the final weeks of principal photography on The Batman Part 2. Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision of the film."
There's still no word on what issue Reeves is dealing with. However, this feels like a very different situation than when the death of Zack Snyder's daughter saw Warner Bros. take that opportunity to replace him with Joss Whedon as Justice League's director.
According to Deadline, "Although Reeves is unable to be on set, the two will work together and remain in communication until filming has ended, with Reeves taking over post-production duties when he is ready to return." It's unclear whether Soderbergh will get a directing credit on the film, but it sounds like his priority was to help a fellow filmmaker.
Directed by Matt Reeves 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.