‘The Batman Part II’ Production Timeline: Every Delay, Setback And Pause That Pushed Matt Reeves’ Robert Pattinson Led Sequel To 2028

“The Batman Part II” was supposed to be in theatres in 2025. Instead, Matt Reeves’ Robert Pattinson-led sequel is now scheduled to arrive in February 2028, after years of screenplay development, multiple release-date changes and, most recently, a temporary production pause.

The latest setback came on October 5, when DC Studios confirmed that filming had been temporarily halted as Reeves steps away to focus on a family matter. The studio said the filmmaker has its full support and that it looks forward to continuing the film soon. There is currently no confirmed change to the February 18, 2028 release date.

But this is not the first time “The Batman Part II” has had its timeline reshuffled. Here is how the sequel went from a 2025 release to its current 2028 date.

April 2022: The sequel is announced

Barely a month after “The Batman” opened in theatres, Warner Bros. confirmed that Reeves and Pattinson would return for a sequel. The announcement came at CinemaCon, with then-Warner Bros. Pictures chief Toby Emmerich confirming Reeves, Pattinson and the team would return to Gotham. At this stage, there was no release date for the sequel.

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February 2023: October 2025 release date announced

James Gunn and Peter Safran, who had taken over as co-heads of the newly formed DC Studios, announced the first release date for “The Batman Part II”. The sequel was set to open on October 3, 2025.

The film was also positioned as a separate DC Elseworlds project rather than part of the interconnected DC Universe that Gunn and Safran were building.

2023: The Hollywood strikes disrupt development

The next major setback came before cameras could roll. The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes disrupted Hollywood production and stalled work on the sequel’s screenplay. The film had been expected to move toward production, but the writing process was affected by the strikes.

The important distinction is that “The Batman Part II” had not begun principal photography at this point. The disruption was to its development and planned production schedule, rather than a pause to an ongoing shoot. Warner Bros. later cited the stalled script development during the strikes when the film’s release was pushed.

March 2024: The first release-date delay

Warner Bros. officially moved “The Batman Part II” by a year, from October 3, 2025 to October 2, 2026. By September that year, Reeves was still working on the screenplay. He told SFX that the team was finishing the script and planned to shoot in 2025. He also confirmed that Colin Farrell’s Penguin would return, with “The Penguin” series serving as a connective point between the two films.

May-June 2025: The script remains unfinished, then finally arrives

The long screenplay process continued into 2025. In May, DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran said the studio had not yet received the completed script, although he described what they had read as encouraging. Reeves had been sending pages while continuing to work toward a full draft.

Then, on June 27, Reeves shared a photograph with co-writer Mattson Tomlin showing the completed screenplay. Variety subsequently confirmed that the script was finished.

At that point, the film was already scheduled for October 1, 2027, meaning its release had shifted again even before filming began.

July 2025: The sequel moves to October 2027

The film’s second major release-date postponement had already taken place by the time the screenplay was completed. Warner Bros. moved “The Batman Part II” from October 2, 2026 to October 1, 2027.

The shift reflected the lengthy development process and gave Reeves more time to get the film into production.

June 2026: Cameras finally roll

After more than four years of development since the sequel was announced, principal photography finally began in London in June 2026.

Pattinson returned as Batman, with Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell also reprising their roles. The sequel added Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry, Charles Dance and Sebastian Koch to the cast.

By September, Pattinson described the shoot as a “marathon” and said he was still filming in London through the end of the year.

July 2026: Another release-date delay, this time to 2028

Even after production had finally begun, the release date moved again. Warner Bros. pushed “The Batman Part II” from October 1, 2027 to February 18, 2028.

The move gave Reeves additional time for post-production, according to reports. Reeves also released the first camera-test footage of Pattinson’s return as Batman alongside the new date announcement.

October 2026: Production pauses again

Now, the film has hit another interruption, this time with cameras already rolling. DC Studios confirmed that production has been temporarily paused while Reeves focuses on a family matter. The studio has not disclosed how long the pause will last, and there has been no announcement of another release-date change.

For now, “The Batman Part II” remains scheduled to hit theatres on February 18, 2028. Whether the latest production pause affects that date remains unknown.

That leaves “The Batman Part II” nearly six years removed from the March 2022 release of its predecessor, with its journey from announcement to production having stretched across multiple screenplay revisions, a Hollywood-wide shutdown, three release-date changes and now an interruption to filming itself.