One of the most original and exciting superhero movies in recent years has to be Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The 2022 movie, which stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, created a rich world surrounding the vigilante and his home of Gotham City. Fans have known since August 2022 that Reeves and Pattinson are returning for The Batman - Part II, of which some details are known. But where is the production ahead of its 2025 release date? Well, Jeffrey Wright just shared what he knows about the sequel, and it’s not the update I was hoping for.
The actor, who memorably played GCPD officer James Gordon in The Batman, attended the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday after being nominated for Best Actor for his work in American Fiction. When he was asked about the latest on Part II, he said:
You've seen as much of a script as I have at this point. I don't want to jump ahead. I just want to go forward with it.
While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Jeffrey Wright revealed that he’s yet to see a script for the sequel, which probably means that Matt Reeves and co-writer Mattson Tomlin are still hammering down the story and dialogue. If you're like me, then you'll probably find that to be a bit of a bummer, given that means filming hasn't started and there's no indication as to when it may begin. Wright also had this to say:
Clearly, I'm Lieutenant Gordon at the end of the first film, so we may be moving up in the ranks, I suppose, but I haven't seen anything yet. 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.
Jeffrey Wright may not know what’s next for Gordon, but the actor sounds very excited to step back into the world of Gotham alongside Robert Pattinson. Right now, we don’t know much about casting aside from Pattinson’s return, though I'm curious if Barry Keoghan will step back in the makeup chair for his Joker after his small appearance in The Batman.
While it was previously reported about a year ago that The Batman - Part II might begin filming in November 2023 that was before the 2023 WGA writers strike shook up Hollywood in a big way. Due to that work stoppage, writers were at a standstill from May 1 to late September. So it's more than likely that that had a huge impact on the development of the sequel.
That being said, the film is all set to be released on October 3, 2025, as part of the list of upcoming DC movies. This update makes a little uneasy, as I don't want to see this become one of those major superhero movies that comes against a hard deadline and doesn't have enough time to percolate. Let's hope that filming gets started sooner rather than later and that the finished flick lives up to its predecessor.
At least while we wait for The Batman - Part II (alongside Jeffrey Wright), we can look forward to the Colin Farrell-led spinoff series The Penguin first. That's expected to start streaming in 2024.
