Matt Reeves' sequel to The Batman, now titled The Batman - Part II — officially has a release date. The anticipated follow-up to the Robert Pattinson's noir-drenched turn as the Caped Crusader will be out October 3, 2025.
The announcement was part of the reveal of Warner Bros. Discovery's broader plan for the new DC Universe and its various side projects, more than one of which features Batman. In addition to announcing the release date, DCU architects James Gunn and Peter Safran also confirmed that The Batman will be a trilogy.
"Matt is working on [The Batman - Part II], which he thinks of as a Batman crime saga, which also includes the Penguin TV series," Gunn explained. "And it is its own thing and he's hard at work on that. He came in and pitched us some amazing, really cool stuff the other day. So our plan is for that to continue."
"And Batman's not a stepchild. I mean, it's all under DC," Safran added. "We are fully invested in the success of the Batman, just like we are everything else."
Reeves had been reportedly interested in turning The Batman into a trilogy since at least 2019, having previously discussed his ideas for a full Batman arc. Earlier this month, the movies were confirmed to be separate from Gunn and Safran's new DCU.
The Brave and the Bold
So what will their own version of Batman look like? According to Gunn and Safran, the DCU Batman will be based on Grant Morrison's run with the series, which featured Batman's son Damian Wayne as a deadly protége trained by the League of Assassins.
"So this is the introduction of the DCU's Batman. It is not Robert Pattinson. It is not Ben Affleck," Gunn said. "[T]his is a story of Damian Wayne, who is Batman's actual son, who we didn't know existed for the first eight to 10 years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin. He's a little son of a bitch. He's my favorite Robin. It's based on the Grant Morrison comic book run, which is one of my favorite Batman runs. And we are putting that all together right now."
"This is obviously a feature film, and it's going to feature other members of the extended Bat-Family," Safran continued. "Just because we feel like they've been left out of the Batman stories in the theater for far too long."
The Brave and the Bold is a comic book series with roots in the mid-1950s, and has historically been a team-up book featuring Batman. Grant Morrison's Batman and Son, meanwhile, debuted back in 2006, and has been described as one of the most significant stories in Batman's recent history.
A broader roadmap for the DCU
It's all part of a broader roadmap for the new DCU, which will feature five new films and five television series for a total of 10 projects. Titled Gods and Monsters, Safran said in a prepared statement that it will tell "cohesive stories that highlight love, compassion, and the innate goodness of the human spirit." They include new stories featuring Superman, Swamp Thing, and more.
As for The Batman, Reeves' project was one of DC's major creative bright spots, earning extremely positive reviews from fans and critics alike. Gunn, Safran, and Reeves will seek to retain the momentum generated by last year's release, timing out releases so they don't interfere with one another.
The process will begin with The Flash, which will seek to hit the reset button on the DCU. Afterward, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will lead into Superman: Legacy, which is when the DCU will truly begin in earnest.
The next DC release is Shazam: Fury of the Gods on March 17, with The Flash following on June 16. You can find lots more info on everything announced during Gunn and Safran's press conference right here.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
