Finally! Updates On The Batman 2 And The Penguin Season 2 From Matt Reeves

Matt Reeves finally gave the briefest of updates on The Batman – Part II.

Speaking to Zoë Kravitz in an interview for Variety, Reeves said:

Yeah, we’re finishing the script. We’re going to be shooting next year.

Filming in 2025 has been known for a few months, but the script’s progress is the new detail.

Why The Delay?

While initially slated for October 2025, Part II got pushed back a full year to October 2, 2026. In the original press release, Deadline speculated it was due to the various strikes in 2023.

That would explain why Reeves is just finishing the script. The Batman released in March 2022. The writers’ strike started May of 2023 and lasted 143 days. During that time, everything went on hold.

And it’s not like Reeves wasn’t working on anything else. He executive produced HBO’s The Penguin spin-off and the animated series Batman: Caped Crusader. There was also a Netflix film called Lift, starring Kevin Hart.

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An Update On The Penguin

During the interview, Kravitz asked Reeves about Penguin.

Kravitz: And more of these shows? Everyone’s freaking out over
The Penguin
.

Reeves: Yeah, we’re talking to Lauren [LeFranc, the showrunner] about doing another season. That was a special experience. I just feel really fortunate. These characters don’t belong to me; they belong to the world. It comes down to whether you can approach them in a way that expresses something personal.

Details on The Batman – Part II have been kept in the shadows, but we do know that the Penguin plays a role in the film, as Colin Ferrell has confirmed his participation in the movie. But whether he’s the primary antagonist isn’t clear.

Clayface Rumors Debunked

Just last week, James Gunn announced DC Studios would make a Clayface movie written by Mike Flanagan, with Reeves as a producer. Initial rumors swirled that the character would play a role in Batman – Part II.

But someone on Threads asked Gunn “This true?” and shared a screenshot of a rumor saying “Clayface and The Scarecrow will be big additions to The Batman Part II.”

Gunn responded quite clearly with, “Firstly, no. Secondly, couldn’t be the case as there hasn’t yet been a first draft of a script.”

And just today, someone asked Gunn to clarify if Clayface is in the DCU. “Yes,” he responded, “the movie is in the DCU. I think I’ve already said that, haven’t I?”

DCU vs. Elseworlds

Gunn’s DC Universe is a separate canon from Reeves’. Gunn’s own Batman has a film already in development called The Brave and the Bold that will focus on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his son Damian. Gunn already confirmed it will be a new actor, not Robert Pattison.

Reeves’ Batman world is what Gunn has labeled Elseworlds, projects that use DC characters but aren’t part of his mainline universe. Last year, someone asked Gunn why not have Reeves’ Batman in the DCU, and Gunn said that it was “Matt’s choice.”

How very brooding and mysterious of Matt. That’s why he’s the guy making Batman movies.