The Batman franchise has had an interesting success story. Upon its release, the movie hit both critically and financially, making $772,319,315 worldwide. After that, came The Penguin. Despite some initial doubts about the viability of a Batman villain successfully leading his own TV show, the prestige HBO series garnered critical acclaim, and left many excited about the prospect of a second season.
Yet, despite those victories, there's been a looming shadow cast over the franchise for the past few years: The many delays of its sequel. The Batman Part II was announced all the way back in 2022, and has since been repeatedly delayed. It was first announced to be released October 3, 2025. It was then delayed to October 2, 2026. Lastly, it was pushed back to October 1, 2027 — its current release date.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding the postponments, but given the personal reasons that have been alluded to have played part in such developments, I will not be touching the reasons behind them. The delays have happened at the same time that James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU is taking shape and gearing up to introduce a Batman of its own.
These situations have prompted some to wonder: Given its arrival over five years after its predecessor, right in the middle of the birth of a new DC Universe on screen, is 'The Batman' sequel irrelevant at this point? Is it too little too late for the movie? They're fair questions to ask, given the fast-paced nature of Hollywood and the seemingly incessant demand for superhero IP on the big screen. In reality, however, they have no merit.
The Batman Part II Has Plenty of Gas in the Tank
Batman remains one of the biggest box office draws for Warner Bros. A prime example is, interesting enough, The Batman. The film arrived in the midst of the DCEU's infmaous financial woes and as Hollywood was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, it still found great success at the box office — and, even more impressively, without it being part of a broad cinematic universe. Prior to that, the last standalone Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, made over $1 billion globally.
In short: The Dark Knight is a hot commodity for WB, so it will arguably never be late for a Batman film to come out. Yes, one could argue that's not the same case for a sequel. After all, if you wait too long, you run the risk of audiences losing interest in the property, not feeling excitement once the sequel arrives. Yet, there's a big advantage: There have been no other Batman features released since The Batman.
The Caped Crusader has been absent from theaters for years, and his return — regardless of it being in a sequel or not — will likely attract the same financial response his many other live-action ventures have gotten in more modern times, ever since the release of Batman Begins in 2005. Adding to that (although, perhaps, in a minor way), Robert Pattinson's take on the Dark Knight was well-received, which could better the likelihood of a healthy financial outcome for the project.
On the critical side, there's also little to worry about. Matt Reeves is known as a methodical filmmaker. He takes his time with his projects., but once they come out, the time he put into them is palpable. Repeat viewings of his films can feel like almost new experiences due to the many different details spread throughout for viewers to find and analyze. With that, it's more than likely that The Batman Part II will enjoy the same critical reception as its predecessor.
Fortunately, things seem to finally be moving forward for the movie. It is rumored to start filming in early 2026, and Reeves is reportedly either close to, or has finalized his script.
So, in short, no, it is not too late for The Batman sequel. The film centeres on a character who's a proven box office draw, the cast was well-received by audiences, and there have been no other big-screen Batman projects released since The Batman to make a sequel to Matt Reeves' crime adventure feel irrelevant in any way.
Things could have been different if the DCU's new Batman had already had a movie out. But, since that is not the case, The Batman Part II likely has nothing to worry about in terms of relevance once it's released on October 1, 2027.