‘The Batman: Part II’ Delayed, Again, to February 18, 2028 Release

Woah, a major release calendar shake-up at Warner Bros: Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Part II” is moving from October 1, 2027, to February 18, 2028. This marks its third calendar shift.

This new date will allow Reeves’ sequel to benefit from the four-day Presidents Day holiday weekend, similar to how “Black Panther” rolled out in 2018. It also means that the sequel will have come out almost six years after the original.

There have been so many delays to the start of production on “The Batman Part II” that Reeves likely needed additional time for post-production. Reeves has been working on the script for the sequel since late 2022. It was initially expected to begin shooting in 2024, then in 2025, and now it appears production will begin at the end of the month.

The cast includes Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Barry Keoghan, Jeffrey Wright, and Colin Farrell returning, with Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry, Charles Dance, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, and Sebastian Koch joining the film.

Reeves has described the sequel as a “very different type of Batman movie,” suggesting a tonal or structural shift from the first instalment. He’s also changed cinematographers — going from the original’s Greig Fraser to now Erik Messerschmidt.

As for plot details, it’s all being kept hush hush. Stan is rumored to be playing serial killer Victor Zsasz. More curiously, Henry has been linked to play Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Meanwhile, Johansson and Dance are not portraying major comic mainstays, but rather more composite or reinterpreted figures.

Reeves is directing the sequel from a script co-written with Mattson Tomlin, with production underway and set to wrap up in October.

The first ‘Batman’ opened to strong reviews on March 4, 2022 — and earned $773M, and that’s despite a Covid-challenged box-office climate. Reeves’ most notable credits up to that point included “Cloverfield,” “Let Me In,” “Dawn for the Planet of the Apes,” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”