Last December, we got the disappointing news that Matt Reeves' The Batman sequel - which is no longer officially titled "The Batman - Part II" - has been hit with a major delay, and now won't arrive in theaters until October 1, 2027.
DC Studios co-head James Gunn took to social media shortly after the announcement to state that the delay was simply down to the fact that the script hasn't been finished. This led to speculation that Reeves may not have settled on which direction to take the sequel, but it sounds like the filmmaker has now, at the very least, cracked the overall story.
During an appearance at Orlando's fan convention MegaCon last Sunday (via Youtube channel Love Our Life), Alfred Pennyworth actor Andy Serkis revealed that Reeves filled him in on what The Batman sequel will focus on.
"I am as hungry for it as you all are," Serkis said. "He [Matt Reeves] told me the story of The Batman 2, and I was so excited for it."
Unfortunately, Serkis wasn't about to spill any details, but this is still a positive update on the status of the long-awaited follow-up.
A lot of fans and industry insiders remain convinced that Robert Pattinson will ultimately stay on as the DCU's Dark Knight for the planned The Brave and the Bold movie. Folding the Batverse into the DCU might make the most sense, if for no other reason than to avoid having two separate Batman franchises running alongside each other. By the time The Batman sequel actually hits theaters in 2027, there's sure to have been at least some progress on The Brave and The Bold, although director Andy Muschietti did reveal that the project has been "postponed a little bit" late last year (FWIW, Gunn refuted this).
As for that lengthy delay, there have been rumors that Reeves might be dealing with some personal issues which prevented him from working on the script for a period of time. The filmmaker did mention that he had "a lot of stuff going on in my life" during January's Golden Globes, while also confirming that The Batman sequel is scheduled to begin filming this year.
"I can tell you that we're going to be shooting this year and that we're excited about it. I can't really tell you anything about it except that we're really excited. We're continuing the story. I'm really excited to be making it, to get our cast back together, to get new people involved, and we're really excited about it."
"What I'm excited about is I feel like we're doing something that absolutely continues where the story came from but is something that I hope people are going to be really surprised by," he added.
Plot rumors continue to swirl, and we have heard that Hush and/or Mr. Freeze could end up being the villains. There doesn't seem to be much to these reports, but there is a good chance that the movie will have a winter setting.