Earlier this week, Warner Bros. officially pushed The Batman Part II from its October 2026 release date and delayed the sequel for another year. Now, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has weighed in on the delay and explained why it happened.
“The only reason for the delay is there isn’t a full script,” wrote Gunn on his Threads account. “[Director] Matt [Reeves] is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write. Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for preproduction, shooting, and post-production on big films.”
Gunn has previously indicated that under his regime, DC won’t send movies into production without a finished script. In order to make the film’s 2026 release date, The Batman Part II would have had to begun casting by now, in addition to setting up dates to shoot the film. But because of the delay, there will now be a five-year gap between the release of The Batman in March 2022 and its sequel.
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HBO’s The Penguin kept The Batman‘s shared universe going when it debuted in September to largely positive reviews. Colin Farrell reprised his role as Oswald Cobb, aka The Penguin, and the season finale had implications for his character’s future in The Batman Part II. During a recent feature with Variety, Reeves acknowledged that he’s been in discussions about a second season of The Penguin.
“We’re talking to [showrunner] Lauren [LeFranc] about doing another season,” said Reeves. “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.”
The Batman Part II will be released on October 1, 2027.
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
Superman: Everything we know about James Gunn’s DCU film so far
DC Studios’ upcoming film Superman is less than a year away, and countless comic book fans are anxious to see the new Man of Steel in James Gunn’s reboot of the DC Universe. Originally titled Superman: Legacy, this blockbuster will be the Last Son of Krypton’s first solo film in over 10 years, so the hype is palpable. For those excited to learn more about this superhero epic, here’s a breakdown of everything that’s been revealed about 2025’s Superman so far.
When does Superman come out?
Superman will premiere on July 11, 2025, making it one of the year’s most highly anticipated summer blockbusters.
What is the story of Superman?
According to Variety, the film “tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”
Creature Commandos trailer introduces James Gunn’s DC Universe and a fan-favorite Batman villain
A new DC Universe is on its way, and comic book fans have finally gotten their first substantial look at it. The multimedia franchise isn’t set to kick things off with one of its flagship heroes like Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman, either. Instead, the DCU’s first official entry belongs to an oddball mix of monsters known as the Creature Commandos. Created and written by James Gunn, Creature Commandos promises to bridge the gap between 2021’s The Suicide Squad, 2022’s Peacemaker, and the DCU’s future.
Now, over a year after Gunn announced Creature Commandos, the animated series’ first official trailer has debuted online. The teaser, which runs over 2 minutes long, efficiently introduces several of Creature Commandos’ core characters, including The Bride (Indira Varma), Nina Mazursky (Zoë Chao), G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn), Weasel (also Sean Gunn), and Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk).
Who is Rick Flag Sr.? James Gunn explains Frank Grillo’s importance to Peacemaker, Superman
When James Gunn’s DC Universe begins, Superman will be its most important superhero for the foreseeable future. Aside from the Man of Steel, another character who will play an integral role in multiple series is Rick Flag Sr.
Played by Frank Grillo, Flag is a military commander and leader of the Suicide Squadron during WWII. In the DC Universe, Flag is the father of Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr., the field leader of the Suicide Squad. Grillo will first voice Flag in Creature Commandos, the adult animated series coming to Max later this year. Grillo’s Flag is the leader of the titular commandos — a black ops team consisting of monsters.