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The Batman 2: release date, plot, cast, trailer

Following the success of The Batman in 2022, a sequel from Warner Bros. Pictures was inevitable. Even the revamped DC Studios led by James Gunn and Peter Safran won’t derail director Matt Reeves’ plans for The Batman 2, which has been officially titled The Batman Part II.

Robert Pattinson will once again portray Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman. Beyond that, several questions remain about the upcoming sequel. To sort out the facts from the rumors, we’ve compiled this roundup that shares everything we know about The Batman Part II so far.

When does The Batman Part II come out?

Robert Pattinson in The Batman.
Warner Bros. Pictures

The Batman Part II was initially supposed to be released on October 3, 2025. Unfortunately, The Batman Part II has been delayed by nearly a year, pushing the premiere to October 6, 2026. Yes, it will be at least two-and-a-half years before we get to see Robert Pattinson suit up again, which marks a four-and-a-half span between the original and the sequel.

This delay isn’t surprising since Warner Bros. Pictures announced the film’s October 2025 debut in January 2023, five months before the writers’ strike kicked off six months of labor disputes in Hollywood. In the film’s old date, The Bride!, director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s reworking of Bride of Frankenstein will be released by Warner Bros. That film stars a former Dark Knight, Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, and Penelope Cruz.

The original plan was for The Batman Part II to begin production in November 2023. However, production has not started yet, and no new cast members have been announced.

There were unconfirmed reports that the film began shooting in March 2024, but the month has passed without any response from Warner Bros. Despite this, insider Jeff Sneider claims that The Batman Part II will start filming in April 2025 and that the cast will be announced in fall 2024, but this report should still be taken with a grain of salt.

What’s the plot of The Batman Part II?

The cast of The Batman.
Warner Bros. Pictures

It’s simply too soon to say. There’s no confirmation as to who the primary villain will be or what’s happening beyond the continued evolution of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Batman ended with Pattinson’s Dark Knight seen in a more heroic light by the people of Gotham City, so the sequel will presumably start with that status quo.

One strong possibility is that the sequel will show the Dark Knight facing off against Thomas Elliot, aka Hush. Once a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, this villain is famous for teaming up with the Riddler and having multiple other villains help them battle and torment Batman with the knowledge of the hero’s true identity.

The Batman did have the Riddler reveal that Bruce’s father inadvertently caused the death of a reporter named Edward Elliot, who may very well be Hush’s father. For this reason, The Batman Part II will likely depict Hush seeking vengeance from Bruce for his father’s role in Edward’s murder.

Who has been cast in The Batman Part II?

Robert Pattinson in The Batman.
Warner Bros. Pictures

When Warner Bros. announced The Batman Part II in April 2022, only Pattinson was confirmed to return as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Regardless, the following cast members will almost definitely be back: Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. Farrell is also starring in Max’s spinoff series, The Penguin, which will chronicle Cobblepot’s rise to the top of Gotham’s criminal underworld and possibly lead into the sequel film.

Zoë Kravitz could return as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, but it’s also possible that Reeves will hold off on her return to give Bruce a new love interest. Barry Keoghan had a brief cameo as The Joker in The Batman, which established his possible alliance with Paul Dano’s Riddler. But for now, neither Keoghan nor Dano are confirmed for the sequel.

Harvey Dent/Two-Face was rumored to be the main antagonist of The Batman Part II, with actor Boyd Holbrook (Logan) said to have been hired to portray the iconic villain. However, James Gunn has since debunked those rumors on Threads.

Is there a trailer for The Batman Part II?

Batman stares down at a crime scene in The Batman.
Warner Bros., 2022 / Warner Bros. Pictures

No. In fact, now that the film has been delayed to 2026, audiences likely won’t see a trailer until around mid-2025.

Jeffrey Wright hasn’t seen a script yet

James Gordon aims his gun in The Batman.
Warner Bros.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for The Batman 2 to hit theaters… or even to start shooting. One of the first film’s key actors set to return hasn’t even read a completed script yet. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the freshly Oscar-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright commented that he has yet to see a Batman 2 screenplay.

“You’ve seen as much of a script as I have at this point,” said Wright, who played Batman’s ally James Gordon in the 2022 film. “I don’t want to jump ahead. I just want to go forward with it.”

“Clearly, I’m Lieutenant Gordon at the end of the film, the first film, so we may be moving up in the ranks, I suppose, but I haven’t seen anything yet,” he added. “I’m being patient, letting [director] Matt Reeves do his thing — which is going to be magical and wonderful — and looking forward to diving back into it when the time comes.”

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