'The Batman Part II' Update: Sebastian Stan's Two-Face, Filming Delays, and No Riddler? [Exclusive]

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Robert Pattinson as Batman in The Batman

Published May 15, 2026, 5:09 PM EDT

Thomas Butt is a senior writer. An avid film connoisseur, Thomas actively logs his film consumption on Letterboxd and vows to connect with many more cinephiles through the platform. He is immensely passionate about the work of Martin Scorsese, John Ford, and Albert Brooks. His work can be read on Collider and Taste of Cinema. He also writes for his own blog, The Empty Theater, on Substack. He is also a big fan of courtroom dramas and DVD commentary tracks. For Thomas, movie theaters are a second home. A native of Wakefield, MA, he is often found scrolling through the scheduled programming on Turner Classic Movies and making more room for his physical media collection. Thomas habitually increases his watchlist and jumps down a YouTube rabbit hole of archived interviews with directors and actors. He is inspired to write about film to uphold the medium's artistic value and to express his undying love for the art form. Thomas looks to cinema as an outlet to better understand the world, human emotions, and himself.

Since the modern interpretation of Batman hit the big screen in Tim Burton's 1989 classic starring Michael Keaton as the titular superhero, audiences have come to expect a new movie, whether a continuation of a current series or a reboot with a new actor and director, centered around the character every few years. Sadly, since Matt Reeves' stand-alone adaptation of the DC Comics character, The Batman, was released in March 2022, our beloved Caped Crusader has been lying dormant in the shadows.

Being such a favorite with mass audiences and a guaranteed box office triumph, a sequel starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne was inevitable, even when the hierarchy of the DC Universe was being upended in the narrative canon and real life. With recent teaser stills and interviews coming to light, fans are starting to get that Batman itch, but unfortunately, we'll have to wait until October 2027 to see what Reeves has been cooking up with The Batman Part II.

'The Batman Part II' Is Completely Separate From James Gunn's DC Universe

Slated for an October 1, 2027, release date, The Batman Part II is certainly one of the marquee events on the calendar for Warner Bros next year. Their '27 slate also features Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn's follow-up to 2025's Superman and the continuation of his new DC Universe saga, running parallel to Reeves' stand-alone Batman world. Since the days of Zack Snyder's reign as the visionary of the DC Extended Universe, parsing out which DC movies exist in the same canon as others is an odyssey on its own. Gunn is supportive of Reeves' separate universe, which also includes the HBO Max series, The Penguin, and he defended the director's deliberate creative process.

Last week, Reeves unveiled the first images of The Batman Part II. Captioned with "#SnowTires," the pictures are camera tests capturing the Batmobile driving through snowy terrain. The details of the surrounding context are unclear in this murky photograph of the camera test, but the gritty atmosphere and commitment to realism that made the original movie so endearing appear to be alive and well from the outset. Set to return for the sequel are Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb/The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Barry Keoghan as the Joker, who was only briefly shown in the 2022 film. Joining the cast are Scarlett Johansson as Gilda Dent, Harvey Dent's wife, Sebastian Stan as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and Charles Dance as Harvey's father. Days later, Reeves posted a gif on X depicting what appears to be Johansson, in the rearview mirror, captioned with "Next exit, Gotham... Welcome."

What's ambiguous is the return of Paul Dano as The Riddler, who we last saw imprisoned at Arkham Asylum alongside the Joker. Collider's Steven Weintraub interviewed Dano and teased his potential involvement — or lack thereof — in The Batman Part II. Claiming ignorance regarding the status of The Riddler's presence in the film, Dano said, "Matt is so caring and obsessive in bringing such a point of view to that film, and I think he is going to again. I could not be more excited to see what he does, and I hope maybe I’ll get to dance again." Despite his uncertainty, he is nonetheless excited about the sequel and expects that audiences will be more than satisfied. Speaking with Deadline, Sebastian Stan, who is cast as Gotham City DA-turned-supervillain Harvey Dent, shared his enthusiasm about appearing in The Batman Part II and working with Matt Reeves. Describing the movie as "ambitious," Stan told Deadline, "I really think it’s going to blow people away. It’s going to surprise a lot of people."

'The Batman Part II' Was Originally Supposed To Hit Theaters in 2025

Grossing $772 million at the box office in 2022, The Batman was integral to the revival of theatrical exhibition during the early phases of transition out of the pandemic. Even amid the changes in the DC universe and corporate takeover at Warner Bros, The Batman Part II was one of the studio's most reliable upcoming projects. Initially set for an October 2025 release, Reeves' highly anticipated sequel has been delayed twice, once pushed to October 2026, and again, most recently, pushed another 12 months. At long last, The Batman Part II is set to begin filming imminently, as Pattinson confirmed during his recent press tour for The Drama.

With the troubled history of so many DC projects stuck in an endless cycle of re-shoots and delays, notably The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Batman's delays could portend a doomsday scenario. But more likely, the delays signal that Reeves is patiently crafting the film without any forced expedition on the studio's part. Rest assured, Batman fans, Matt Reeves' long-awaited and gestating sequel to his hit 2022 film is officially underway. You'll just have to wait a little longer to experience The Dark Knight soar again.