James Gunn and Peter Safran, the heads of DC Studios, basically laid their entire plan over the next decade or so out for fans today as they made a slew of major announcements in a press event. Amid all this new DC universe stuff came some news that on any other day would be a top headline: the release date for the Robert Patterson-starring The Batman Part II. Gunn announced that the film will be landing on October 3, 2025.
Matt Reeves is returning to direct the film as he builds out his BatVerse, which will live in a “DC Elseworlds” universe that is separate from the one Gunn and Safran are building — to the extent that there will be two competing Batmans going at the same time. Gunn is developing a film called The Brave and the Bold, a Batman and Robin (Damian Wayne) movie. That’s a lot of Batman, though we won’t be seeing The Brave and the Bold anytime soon, meaning that Reeves has ownership of the character for some time to come. There shouldn’t be too much conflict yet with The Batman Part II landing with a 2025 release date, unless Batman makes a surprise appearance in Gunn’s new Superman Legacy, which was announced to be landing in 2025 as well.
Reeves isn’t just making a sequel to the film, but building an entire BatVerse that involves spinoff TV shows as well, including a Penguin series that’s in the works. Let’s also not forget that Joker: Folie à Deux is coming out from Todd Phillips, creating a third Batman-based universe in DC Studios. While that film may not have Batman at all, the Wayne family was strongly tied to the first film and a young Bruce Wayne played a pronounced role. Basically, there’s just a stupid amount of Batman coming over the next five years or so. Hopefully, everyone can keep their Batmans straight as DC completely demolishes the idea of tuning in at the same Bat time on the same Bat channel.
