It's been a while since we had any official word of Matt Reeves' plans for his sequel to The Batman, and the lack of updates following the announcement that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be heading up a new DCU led to speculation that the movie may have been delayed yet again or possibly even shelved altogether.
Gunn has always assured fans that this was not the case, and one of the actors involved with the film has now shared a positive production update.
According to Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth), cameras are set to start rolling early next year.
“Well, there is a huge arc which you’ve got – nah, I’m not giving away anything,” Serkis said during an appearance at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024. "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. Therefore, if you do the math, it’ll be a year and a half after that.”
“I know that Matt [Reeves] is working really hard on the script," he continued. "Matt Reeves being Matt Reeves, the extraordinary filmmaker that he is, I can only assume that it’s going to be another brilliant script, because I thought what he did with that first film was pretty amazing. I loved working with Rob Pattinson, and I really look forward to playing Alfred once more.”
While it's obviously great to hear that The Batman - Part II is still on track, fans were hoping that production would get underway before the end of the year (rumors pointed to December), but it seems it's going to be well into 2026 before we get to see the sequel.
Everyone from the first film (who survived) is expected to return, along with some characters from the Penguin Max series, and we have heard rumors that both Dr. Tommy Elliot/Hush and Dick Grayson/Robin might also be introduced.
If you've seen The Batman, you'll likely have noticed that the groundwork is actually laid for the introduction of Hush. At one point, The Riddler exposes some dark secrets, revealing that Thomas Wayne played a part in the death of a journalist named Edward Elliot. While this could just be a coincidence, the word "hush" even flashes up on the screen at one point.
This was probably just a little Easter egg for fans at the time, but that doesn't mean Reeves couldn't have decided to go with Hush as the main antagonist of The Batman - Part II since.
Here's what the filmmaker had to say about the character when asked which villains he'd most like to explore in a potential sequel back in 2022.
"There are so many, and, I dunno... I think Hush is a really interesting one to do. I'll say Hush. But that doesn't mean that the next one will be Hush!"
As for Robin, several different sources have now reported that Grayson will debut in the sequel, so we'd say there is likely something to it. Details are few and far between, but we have heard that this latest take on The Boy Wonder will be a teenager (possibly as young as thirteen).
When the new DCU slate was announced, Gunn confirmed that Reeves' "BatVerse" will remain separate from the DCU, so this movie, along with Todd Phillips' Joker sequel, will be considered "Elseworlds" tales. A new actor will down the cape and cowl for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which will also feature a different take on Robin - The Caped Crusader's son, Damian Wayne.
Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, and Colin Farrell are all expected to reprise their respective roles.
Specific plot details are still under wraps, but we know the Penguin spin-off series will set up the story. As far as official info goes, Reeves has stated that his sequel will continue this "epic crime saga," but that's about all we have to go on.