The new movie in The Batman franchise won’t be released anytime soon after a new release date is announced.
The sequel to Matt Reeves’ movie starring Robert Pattinson as the winged DC superhero was announced at CinemaCon in April 2022, with Mattson Tomlin to co-write with Reeves. It was then announced in January 2023 that the movie was set to be released October 3 2024.
However, delays reportedly caused by last year’s SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have meant that the movie won’t be hitting screens until October 2 2026, pushing its release back a whole year.
The first movie in Reeves’ iteration of Gotham’s superhero was a success, receiving generally positive reviews and making more than £601million ($770million) at the box office, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2022.
With an ensemble cast including Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano and Jeffrey Wright, it was nominated for three Academy Awards, including for Best Visual Effects.
In a four-star-review of The Batman, NME wrote: “Director Matt Reeves has mixed up gritty mob drama with film-noir detective thriller – and thanks to Dano’s ultra-creepy villain, some psychological horror too. Most of the time it comes off brilliantly.”
NME also praised Kravitz’ portrayal of Catwoman, calling her “perfect” for the role: “Here, Reeves gives Kravitz a proper backstory and tells it via seedy nightclubs and abandoned construction sites.”
Reeves’ version of the iconic story led to a spin-off exploring the character Penguin, who, in The Batman, is played by Colin Farrell. The Penguin is set to be released on Max late this year, also experiencing delays in production as a result of the strikes. Black Mirror and How I Met Your Mother’s Cristin Milioti has also joined the cast.
The series is set to take place one week after the events of The Batman, exploring the rise of Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobblepot or Penguin.
Elsewhere, watch the moment Danny DeVito reflected on his time playing Penguin in Batman Returns, as he jokingly scolds Michael Keaton at the Oscars.