Maybe Reeves has writer's block? Maybe he is slow playing it because DCU is trying to usurp him?

Why is Gunn commenting on it? I thought they were co-leaders on this?

Gunn is technically Reeves' boss. Gunn doesn't oversee just the DCU, he oversees *all* DC projects, including the DCU, Elseworlds, etc.

That, and Reeves has straight up said he's just a slow writer. It sounds like he has the movie figured out, it's just taking forever to get the details right. Combined with the dual strikes last year, where he couldn't write for eight months, along with his duties overseeing The Penguin, I guess I get it, but none of that takes away from the reality that damn near all franchise momentum will have likely been killed by late 2027.

Wouldn't shock me if this gets axed at this point to make a more cohesive DCU.

I can't imagine keeping interest in this universe for over 2 more years with no Batman.

Madmarttigan said:

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Wouldn't shock me if this gets axed at this point to make a more cohesive DCU.

I can't imagine keeping interest in this universe for over 2 more years with no Batman.

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On one hand, I could see it happening. On the other hand, that would be a massive FU to everyone considering the success of Penguin.

This delay already sort of is.

I'm probably a dunce but this just seems like some kind of weird power struggle and Gunn is trying to use his power to leverage Reeves into his universe or something.

Basically, play ball or I'm going to move your projects down the priority list.

The last page of news just seems like Gunn being butthurt about all the fanfare for Reeves and his ego is worried people will like his product more than anything he puts out.

Gunn has been defending Reeves like crazy on social media, and has said over and over how much he loves The Batman, The Penguin, etc. There's definitely a respect there, tot he point where there's almost no chance this is a power struggle.

I'd rather they take their time to nail the story than rush a bad movie, but this increasingly feels like Reeves doesn't know what story he wants to tell. All these different iterations we've heard rumors about - Hush! Clayface! Court of Owls! - feel like drafts jettisoned by a writer who doesn't know where the narrative should go.

I wish Gunn would come out and just say that there is personal stuff going on with Matt Reeves behind the scenes (which some scoopers are hinting at). And that we all need to be patient while Reeves navigates that AND writes The Batman Part II script. We’d understand. We all go… https://t.co/KSNkRYyOWa

— John Rocha (@TheRochaSays) December 28, 2024

Quote:

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I wish Gunn would come out and just say that there is personal stuff going on with Matt Reeves behind the scenes (which some scoopers are hinting at). And that we all need to be patient while Reeves navigates that AND writes The Batman Part II script. We'd understand. We all go thru **** in our lives that affects our work. We're all human.

I'm not saying he owes us anything. But this convenient, cherry picked logic meant to placate the fans' need to see The Batman Part II doesn't help because it can be easily countered.

One year gaps: Scary Movie 2, Scream 2 and Paranormal Activity 2, LOTR movies (although they were shot simultaneously)

Two year gaps: The Godfather II, Spider-Man 2

Three year gaps: Star Trek 2, Star Wars V, Captain America 2, Indiana Jones 2, Rocky 2, Creed 2, Matt Reeves's Planet of the Apes 3, Batman Returns, Rambo 2

Four year gaps: BTTF 2, The French Connection 2, Toy Story 2, Blade 2, The Matrix 2, the Thor series

Anyways, that's just a few examples. There are more as I just tried to keep it with legendary franchises. Just my two cents on this…

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I've been increasingly seeing this "personal stuff" excuse being hinted at on social media as well, which there could be some merit to but who knows…

All those long breaks he mentioned, not like they had planned on making sequels when they were making thr first, right? We knew from the get go that Reeves was getting a trilogy. Not really apples to apples comparison there

Yes and no.

I agree that Gunn's comparisons don't hold much water, seeing as most of the titles he listed weren't planned sequels, not to mention a number of them are "legacy" sequels, where the huge time gap is the point, generational, etc.

Whereas Batman, especially a "year two" iteration, is naturally meant to have a new movie every two to four years or so, just like the past three Batman franchises/iterations, not to mention damn near every modern superhero (with exceptions of course). Especially when The Batman Part II is set to take place mere months after the first movie. Sure, they can do all kinds of movie magic, but it's still going to feel weird when it's been five-and-a-half-years in real life, and every actor has aged over that time period, but only two months have passed in the story.

All that said, I don't necessarily think a trilogy was planned from the beginning. I think Reeves has always wanted it to be a trilogy, but had no hard, concrete plans for one, seeing as Parts II and III depended solely on the success of the first movie. Granted, I'm sure Reeves had broad-stroke ideas for three movies, but my point is that this wasn't a Lord of the Rings situation or anything like that, where three movies were a given from the get-go.

Robert Pattinson will be three years older than Christian Bale was when he finished ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy by the time ‘The Batman 2’ releases pic.twitter.com/at4amfmf49

— Film Facts 🎬 (@Factsonfilm) December 28, 2024

I'm going on record that BM2 doesn't happen. Someone else already said that and I'm joining them.

If The Penguin hadn't come out and been the hit that it was, I might agree. But given its viewership numbers, critical acclaim, and how much it probably boosted eyeballs even more for The Batman on Max, it sounds like WB, Gunn, etc are all-in now. That, and after Reeves has spent so much time working on the script, they're not going to screw someone of his stature over like that. If the movie doesn't happen, it'll be due to Reeves making the decision to back out, for personal reasons, which doesn't seem likely at this point, given how much he's been talking it up in the press the past couple months.

YouBet said:

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I'm going on record that BM2 doesn't happen. Someone else already said that and I'm joining them.

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Hmm... I had never thought that was a possibility, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised. Sounds like things are in total disarray with DC already and how they want to handle Batman in the DCU and the separate Reeves-verse... if it is even separate.

And lets be honest, Pattinson is a weird ass dude. With all these question marks in place, I wouldn't be surprised if he just doesn't feel like doing it anymore by then and decides on a whim to go do a terrible arthouse film instead. Nothing would surprise me really at this point.

They already chased off Nolan, whos to say the geniuses at wb wouldn't do it again? I'm not saying they will, but you're acting like it isn't a possibility.

Also I'm mostly excited about seeing Gunn's vision play out... but wasn't the whole point of this reset and him being put in charge - to make things less confusing and start a cohesive, streamlined universe (and one that doesn't suck)?

Nothing about this so far sounds like that... at all. We've got cherry-picked projects from the previous universe being kept as canon (because they were his popular projects). We've got the already established Batman universe, seemingly in complete disarray... rumors now that he wants Reeves' Batman pulled into the DCU - despite them being not even remotely consistent in tone, structure, visuals, and everything else you can think of...

But instead you'd have two... maybe even three Batman iterations planned? I just don't know how any of this is supposed to make sense for the average movie-goer... I'm rooting for Gunn and DC, but nothing about this seems like it's going the way it should be. Hope I'm wrong though...

G.I.Bro said:

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They already chased off Nolan, whos to say the geniuses at wb wouldn't do it again? I'm not saying they will, but you're acting like it isn't a possibility.

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A) I've provided every relevant rumor/update on this issue imaginable in this thread, and in doing so I've caveated multiple times that anything is possible, have expressed the same frustrations as everyone else, etc. I'm simply saying it's not likely, which is different than saying it's not possible.

B) Since Nolan left, there's not only a completely new leadership team in place, a completely different corporation is now running Warner Bros as well. The personnel/situations are totally different.

Ok

I'll of course wait to see how the creative plays out, but when it comes to presentation/communication, IMO Gunn has been a massive disappointment so far. On one hand, I love that he seems to be putting quality above all, and has attracted some insane talent both in front of and behind the camera. But yeah, the way the vision for the DCU has been presented/communicated so far has been ridiculously confusing, if not abysmal.

I don't care how beloved season one of Peacemaker was, it should have been left in the dust for a completely fresh DC cinematic re-start from scratch. To me, all confusion so far has stemmed from that single decision/Gunn's inability to completely cut ties with his past work. It didn't help that The Batman pre-dated him, and that he was left having to deal with that outlier as well, but there had to be a better way to handle it than where we are currently.

Again, a year-and-a-half from now, Superman, Supergirl, and Lanterns may all prove to be huge successes, and all of this confusion could feel like a distant memory. But good lord, the amount of times I've had to explain what the hell is going on with the DCU, Elseworlds, etc, to extremely confused, but otherwise savvy, superhero movie fans on this board alone, proves that Gunn has completely blown at least this pre-rollout DCU era.

RUMOR: @TheInSneider believes there might be some truth to Mr. Freeze appearing in ‘THE BATMAN 2.’

“I think there may be a little be of truth to those Mr. Freeze rumors... an untested, unproven source reached out to suggest this.”

(Via The Hot Mic | https://t.co/1Nljdrol7i) pic.twitter.com/2xHBO2pDah

— DC Film News (@DCFilmNews) January 3, 2025

We know the movie takes place at or near Christmas, during the winter. Reeves has at least heavily hinted as much. And granted, Gotham's obviously not fully flooded anymore, but parts of it still are, sooo… there will be a lot of ice and potentially a lot of snow. It all certainly lines up, to the point where maybe this was the plan all along.

I'd say this basically confirms the "personal issues" rumor that was going around, which apparently kept Reeves' from being able to fully focus on the script over the last year or so (rumor was he was going through a divorce, but who knows). Great to see him in good spirits though and glad everything is finally back on track…

Matt Reeves praises Colin Farrell

"He's a genius ... he's also such a wonderful person ... [there's been] a lot of stuff going on in my life the past year or so, and he's been such a good friend"

(via @DEADLINE | #ThePenguin) pic.twitter.com/vgNl2Ymb9Y

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) January 5, 2025

It great to see that Matt is still incredibly excited and passionate about doing Part ll.

He also confirmed that A lot of stuff was going on in his life over the last year or so pic.twitter.com/vJgYTuH0Y0

— VENGEANCE🦇 (@BatSource1) January 5, 2025

Matt Reeves confirms ‘THE BATMAN 2’ is still planning to film in 2025 🦇

“We're doing something that absolutely continues where the story came from, but it's something that I hope people are really surprised by”

(via: Deadline) pic.twitter.com/B9DKN2JGuh

— ScreenTime (@screentime) January 5, 2025

Reeves confirmed tonight that The Batman Part II is full steam ahead, while Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe for his role in The Penguin. It's go time.

Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN & THE PENGUIN have been financially successful, critically acclaimed, received a multitude of Oscar & Golden Globe nominations, the most successful DC has ever been in years & there are still people who think THE BATMAN: PART II isn’t happening.

— Jesabel (@JesabelRaay) January 6, 2025

And then there's this…

Matt Reeves confirms a 'THE PENGUIN' Season 2 is in the works.

They are currently coming up with ideas and a script.

(Via: @THR) pic.twitter.com/ai42hHTTQk

— The Batman Saga News (@TheBatmanSagaNW) January 6, 2025

Matt Reeves says the villain of The Batman sequel will be very surprising. The story is a continuation but also very different pic.twitter.com/QulSqYqFbT

— VENGEANCE🦇 (@BatSource1) January 7, 2025

Matt Reeves on 'THE BATMAN PART 2':

"The story is a continuation [to THE BATMAN] in a certain way and completely different in another and is going to show a different side of Rob... It's going to be really cool."

(via: @joshuahorowitz) pic.twitter.com/g4Khaj5wda

— The Batman Saga News (@TheBatmanSagaNW) January 7, 2025

It sounds like he’s open to it after he gets at least Batman Part II shooting. He wants his story told first, but the door is open after that happens.

— grodyzov (@grodyzov) January 7, 2025

James Gunn talks about integration of Robert Pattinson’s Batman in DCU! https://t.co/HfiayCsJ2y pic.twitter.com/BHlDYpfttB

— Everything_DCU (@EverythingDCU_) January 7, 2025

TCTTS said:

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Matt Reeves says the villain of The Batman sequel will be very surprising. The story is a continuation but also very different pic.twitter.com/QulSqYqFbT

— VENGEANCE🦇 (@BatSource1) January 7, 2025

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Well apparently the villain is Mr. Freeze - but is actually Clayface in shapeshifter form, that turns out was secretly Hush the entire time. And also he runs the Court of Owls.

In.

Sex Panther said:

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TCTTS said:

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Matt Reeves says the villain of The Batman sequel will be very surprising. The story is a continuation but also very different pic.twitter.com/QulSqYqFbT

— VENGEANCE🦇 (@BatSource1) January 7, 2025

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Well apparently the villain is Mr. Freeze - but is actually Clayface in shapeshifter form, that turns out was secretly Hush the entire time. And also he runs the Court of Owls.

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And all being run by Calendar Man behind the scenes.

And the master mind behind them all?

The Porkchop Express said:

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And the master mind behind them all?

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Or so the Germans would have us believe.