Is Matt Reeves' The Batman Trilogy Still Moving Forward As Planned? The Director Shares An Update
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While the new DC Universe franchise is planning on introducing its own Batman in the upcoming DC movie The Brave and the Bold, Robert Pattinson’s version of the Caped Crusader still has a bright future ahead of him. Following The Batman’s release in 2022, 2026’s The Batman: Part II will see this take on Gotham City’s vigilante taking center stage again. Director and co-writer Matt Reeves said years back that he intended for this Batman saga to unfold as a trilogy, and while there have been some tweaks to this corner of the DC multiverse along the way, he has confirmed that’s still the “plan.”
Reeves provided this update to Collider, saying that what’s coming up is “sticking very closely to the path we envisioned.” This comes after fans have wondered if the release of The Penguin miseries, which will be streamable with a Max subscription, resulted in the filmmaker needing to change the prior plan he mapped out. As he explained:
Things kind of shifted. So, when we came up with the idea to do The Penguin , that was something where I had always intended to continue Penguin's story, and wanted to tell this story of his beginning of rise to power. Because we know that he's introduced in The Batman as a kind of mid-level, sort of overlooked, mocked figure, who's not yet in anyone's eyes the kingpin we come to know him as in the lore. And so, that was deliberate because I wanted— whereas it wasn't Batman's origin story, I wanted the origin stories of these other characters, of the Rogues Gallery and that story was originally going to be the entrée into the next movie.
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So Colin Farrell’s Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot (who doesn’t like being called Penguin) has always been intended to continue being a major player past the events of The Batman, as Matt Reeves was interesting in charting his journey from being Carmine Falcone’s #2 guy to becoming one of Gotham’s most powerful crime bosses, if not at the top of the food chain. Judging by Matt Reeves’ statement, it doesn’t sound like any major plot twists he conceived in The Batman: Part II have been shifted over to The Penguin. Rather, the miniseries functions as an additional chapter in Oz’s life, which makes me all the more intrigued to see how it sets up where we find him in The Batman: Part II.
In addition to Colin Farrell and Robert Pattinson reprising their roles, Zo? Kravitz, Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright will respectively return as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon. While no plot details have been disclosed to the public yet, Matt Reeves did recently share that he doesn’t intend to use more “fantastical” villains like Gentleman Ghost. The sequel is expected to begin next April in at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England.
With The Batman: Part II being set for release on October 2, 2026, presumably that means The Batman Part III will come out in 2029 or 2030. Looking ahead much sooner into the future, The Penguin will begin playing on Max next Thursday, September 19.
