DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn is standing firm in the decision to push Matt Reeves‘ follow-up to The Batman back a year, with a new release set for flight in 2027.
Taking to Instagram Threads following the news, and subsequent fan outcry, Gunn defended the choice as one that is routine for big action tentpoles.
“To be fair, a 5 year gap or more is fairly common in sequels,” he wrote. “7 years between Alien and Aliens. 14 years between Incredibles. 7 years between the first two Terminators. 13 years between Avatars. 36 years between Top Guns. And, of course, 6 years between Guardians Vol 2 and Vol 3.”
News of the delay broke yesterday, with Warner Bros. announcing the post-Christmas switch from a planned Oct. 2, 2026 release to an Oct. 1, 2027 bow. Though production won’t commence until late summer in 2025, the VFX-heavy sequel can make the Fall 2026 cutoff.
After the announcement, however, Gunn confirmed the move was writing-related: “Sure. Yes, it is true. The only reason for the delay is there isn’t a full script (those of you who follow me here probably know that already). Matt 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 pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films.”
Interestingly, the conglomerate had the first weekend of October 2027 already staked out for a DC title. Taking over The Batman sequel’s spot is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s untitled project with Tom Cruise.
The 2022 gritty Robert Pattinson vehicle saw immense success for Warner Bros. post-pandemic with the implementation of a day-and-date release strategy on Max; the movie made $369.3 million domestically and $772 million worldwide. The feature spawned a Max series set in the same universe with Colin Farrell’s The Penguin, the third-most-watched HBO or Max debut season internationally.