Batman is staying in the shadows a little longer. Warner Bros. has pushed Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II from Oct. 1, 2027, to Feb. 18, 2028, moving Robert Pattinson’s return as the Dark Knight into Presidents’ Day weekend.
The delay is part of a broader release-date shuffle triggered by J.J. Abrams’ original sci-fi fantasy The Great Beyond. The film, starring Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega, will now open Oct. 1, 2027, taking over the date previously occupied by The Batman Part II.
Abrams’ film had initially been scheduled for November 2026. Following a test screening, Warner Bros. reportedly decided it wanted 70mm IMAX prints, giving Abrams additional time to complete post-production on the ambitious project. The move also places The Great Beyond in an early October corridor that has previously worked well for Warner Bros. titles including Gravity, Joker, A Star Is Born and Dune.
Written and directed by Abrams, The Great Beyond also stars Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Merritt Wever and Samuel L. Jackson. The film marks Abrams’ first directorial effort since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and his first original feature in more than a decade.
For The Batman Part II, the new date gives Reeves additional time for post-production following a roughly five-month production delay. The sequel is still expected to retain access to IMAX screens when it opens over the four-day holiday weekend.
To soften the blow, Reeves did release a camera-test video of Pattinson returning in a costume that is nearly identical to the one he wore in The Batman.
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Pattinson will return as Bruce Wayne alongside Andy Serkis as Alfred, Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Confirmed additions include Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Charles Dance, Brian Tyree Henry, Sebastian Koch and others, though Warner Bros. has not officially revealed which characters most of the newcomers will play.
Online speculation has connected Johansson, Stan and Dance to characters including Poison Ivy, Victor Zsasz and the Court of Owls, but those reports remain unconfirmed. Reeves has kept plot details and character identities tightly guarded.
The new Feb. 18, 2028 date places The Batman Part II on the Presidents’ Day weekend, a corridor previously used by superhero films including Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World.
What this means for the long-gestating DCU Batman film, The Brave and the Bold, is anyone’s guess.
Warner Bros. also shifted two other titles. Sam Esmail’s thriller Panic Carefully, starring Julia Roberts, Eddie Redmayne, Brian Tyree Henry and Elizabeth Olsen, has moved from Feb. 26 to April 9, 2027. New Line’s horror sequel Revenge of La Llorona will take over the Feb. 26 date.
For Batman fans, the latest delay is another test of patience. Reeves’ sequel was originally planned for 2025 before moving through several release windows. Still, the extra time may ultimately benefit a film carrying enormous expectations after the critical and commercial success of The Batman and HBO’s The Penguin.
Gotham will have to wait until 2028.
Geek out.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
