The sequel to The Batman, while no surprise, is now a reality that's officially confirmed by Warner's DC Studios, complete with title and release date.
Robert Pattinson will indeed return for a follow-up to the 2022 hit film The Batman, which will bear the formal title The Batman Part II. The numerically titled sequel, now set for Oct. 3, 2025, will also see director Matt Reeves back in the big chair. However, this return is not occurring under a Marvel Studios-like long-term deal since executives confirm that, as of now, Pattinson is only signed on for the sequel. However, as revealed by studio bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran, the sequel will arrive under the newly established "DC Elseworlds" category, which identifies the film as taking place outside the mainline DC Universe, akin to director Todd Phillips' 2024-scheduled sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.
The Batman Part II's Elseworlds Label
Gunn and Safran's lineup confirms the reorganization of the DC movies, which previously centered around the Zack Snyder-directed films connected to 2017's Justice League. The main DC Universe has set its new centerpiece offering with Superman: Legacy, which drops on July 11, 2025, a few short months before The Batman Part II. While it was already known that the Pattinson-headlined franchise takes place on a different Earth, the implied barriers between the universes are now officially acknowledged with the latter's Elseworlds label.
For Reeves, the delineation relieves any pressure to force-fit the film into an elaborate canon. Indeed, the director recently hinted that he wants The Batman sequel to eschew the ostentatious presentation of a flashy, scene-stealing supervillain. "To me, the thing that I really feel is that I also believe that Rob [Pattinson] is so special in the role," he explained. "My goal has always been to do these point-of-view stories that allow the character to always be the emotional center of the story. Because a lot of times what happens is, after you do the first one, then suddenly other Rogues Gallery characters come in, and they kind of take over, and then Batman takes a backseat sort of character-wise, or emotionally."
Additionally, the long-gestating television spinoff focused on Colin Farrell's Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin, is still in the works. With the film's nightclub-owning version of the DC comic book villain set to take the spotlight, Reeves recently explained how it will take shape as an antihero tale akin to Scarface, specifically director Brian De Palma's 1983 remake. "The idea of getting to do the series and really sort of dive into the depths of who this character is and look at that moment where it's kind of his Scarface moment," he said. "The moment where everyone's underestimated him, he's gonna reach for power in Gotham. Lauren LeFranc, who wrote it and who's the showrunner, she's so wonderful. She dug into the character. I kept showing her the movie as she was working on the script, before the movie was ever done."
The Batman Part II is scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 3, 2025.
Source: Warner Bros. Discovery