The Batman 2 will soon resume filming despite director Matt Reeves stepping away to deal with a family matter. Steven Soderbergh has been drafted in to finish the rest of production, and it promises to be a sequel well worth waiting for.
Robert Pattinson is back behind the cowl, of course, for the much-anticipated DC Elseworlds film. Prior to departing the shoot, Reeves had shared plenty from set, which we'll go into below.
Below, you'll find all the details on the new Batman 2 release date, the suspected plot, and everything else revealed about the film so far. It's worth bearing in mind that lot is still under wraps so make sure you keep checking back to our guide for all of the latest news. And while you're here, why not check out our list of the most exciting upcoming DC movies, as well as our guide to all the upcoming movies in 2026 and beyond.
The Batman 2 release date
The Batman 2 has a release date of February 18, 2028, after the film was delayed again from October 1, 2027. This is much, much later than originally planned. The movie was delayed a full year from October 2, 2026, which was a new date from a previous delay from October 3, 2025.
Filming was "temporarily paused" while director Matt Reeves dealt with a family matter, but there's currently no indication that the release date will be impacted again. Steven Soderbergh took the reins in October 2026, with Matt Reeves clarifying the situation on Twitter. "Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II," he wrote. "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."
The Batman 2 trailer: when might we get one?
Production on the movie is currently underway, so we probably won't see a trailer until 2027. The first trailer for The Batman, though, was released pretty early, arriving as part of DC FanDome in August 2020 (just seven months after production began in January 2020).
The movie itself arrived in March 2022, though it likely would have arrived earlier if it weren't for the COVID-19 pandemic. We can hopefully expect a trailer in a similar fashion, meaning our best guess is mid-2027. For now, though, we have a snowy first look at our return to Gotham, courtesy of Matt Reeves, as well as another fresh look at Batman (which confirms his ears will be longer). Check that out below.
First teaser for ‘THE BATMAN: PART 2’.In theaters on February 18, 2028. pic.twitter.com/qEQ8aqNzGRJuly 15, 2026
The Batman 2 cast
The main cohort of The Batman 2 cast members has now been confirmed.
According to Deadline, Charles Dance is in talks to join the cast as Harvey Dent's father, though nothing is confirmed yet. It's worth bearing in mind too that it's not even confirmed yet that Sebastian Stan is playing Harvey Dent.
Elsewhere, rumors persist that Barry Keoghan is also reportedly returning as the Joker (via Variety), but this has yet to be confirmed.
Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia Falcone in The Penguin, won't be returning, however, and James Gunn was also keen to downplay rumors that Robin would appear in The Batman 2. Another person we won't be seeing is Zoë Kravitz, as she is not expected to reprise the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, according to Variety.
Here's what the cast looks like so far:
- Robert Pattinson – Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Andy Serkis – Alfred Pennyworth
- Jeffrey Wright – Jim Gordon
- Colin Farrell – Oz Cobb/The Penguin
- Jayme Lawson – Bella Real
- Gil Perez-Abraham – Officer Martinez
- Sebastian Stan – Harvey Dent (rumored)
- Scarlett Johansson – TBC
- Charles Dance – TBC
The Batman 2 plot speculation
Our only real hint for The Batman 2 plot is The Penguin spin-off series, which takes place after the events of The Batman and before the events of the sequel. At the end of the series, Sofia Falcone receives a letter from her half-sister Selina Kyle, and the finale ends on the Bat signal being lit up in the sky. There was also some fan speculation that Dr. Julian Rush, Sofia's psychiatrist, was being set up to become Scarecrow, but this was later debunked by showrunner Lauren LeFranc.
Robert Pattinson has also teased that the sequel is "cool," while Colin Farrell has confirmed that he has "five or six" scenes in the movie – and that it will take place a few weeks after the events of The Penguin. "And then [The Batman Part 2] will pick up, whatever, a few weeks after the show ended," he told ComicBook.com.
Beyond that, Matt Reeves teased to The Hollywood Reporter that The Batman 2 would take Bruce Wayne and Batman in a direction that has "never been done before in this way"
We also finally have a concrete hint about the villain. "One of the explorations, for me, was to do something that pushes even further into the character of Bruce Wayne because the first story is so much about the Batman," Reeves told Happy Sad Confused at the Emmys.
"I always wanted, in the movies, to make sure [they were] focused on his character. I never wanted to lose Rob at the center of these stories – and that's what we set our aim on. So, we had to pick the right villain that digs into his past. I won't tell you where we ended up, but we're super excited about it, and I will say it's never really been done in a movie before." That rules out the Joker, even though a deleted scene shows Barry Keoghan's Clown Prince of Crime seemingly stealing the paperclips from Batman's file, implying an escape from Arkham.
We also know that The Batman is in an Elseworlds universe separate from the new DCU spearheaded by Gunn and Peter Safran, beginning with Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, so the events of Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, and so forth will have no bearing on the film. Gunn previously stated that he wouldn't "rule out" blending the DCU and DC Studios (where Reeves' Batman universe exists), but it's highly likely that the DCU will have its own separate and tonally different Batman. This is something Pattinson himself echoed, telling LadBible "It would be kind of tough" to be the DCU's Batman.
Recently, Tomlin took to social media to get the fans excited, writing: "We worked exceptionally hard to tell a story worthy of the character. Something that feels new and dangerous. The bar couldn't be higher. Looking forward to people seeing it and being able to talk about it at length," Tomlin remarked. "Can't begin to describe what this film means to me."
That's a wrap on The Batman 2. While you wait, check out our guide on how to watch all the DC movies in order, for everything else the DCU has in store.
