After The Batman, which opened to great box office and critical acclaim in 2022, a sequel to the DC film is currently in development. This time, DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Elseworlds branding initiative will include the film in an attempt to differentiate it from the DC Universe continuity.
A flurry of rumors about some surprising comic book characters that might not show up in the upcoming Robert Pattinson-led The Batman sequel movie has recently gained momentum. Social media was recently rife with rumors that Clayface, Hush, Dick Grayson, Professor Pyg, and Scarecrow would all make cameos in the next The Batman film. But in response to recent rumors, the Guardians of the Galaxy director stated that they are “totally made up”, which has caused conflicting feelings among ardent supporters.
The Batman Part II: James Gunn Rebuts an Important Report, Distressing a Lot of Fans
With The Batman Part II scheduled for release in 2025, production is expected to start at some point in the upcoming year. However, speculation regarding the ensemble cast of the movie has started to circulate, and it appears that James Gunn is stopping some of it.
The earlier rumors of the possibility of Clayface, Hush, Dick Grayson, Professor Pyg, and Scarecrow appearing in Robert Pattinson‘s The Batman sequel, abound as fans anxiously await confirmation, surely fueling both excitement and skepticism. Gunn addressed recent speculations that these popular comic book characters would all appear in The Batman Part II on Threads. He stated that the rumors are “totally made up” in just one sentence.
James Gunn says Clayface, Hush, Dick Grayson, Professor Pyg, and Scarecrow being in #TheBatman2 is 'totally made up' pic.twitter.com/8ifOBvWPXd
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) December 27, 2023
Had they exercised a little more imagination, these peculiar choices could have pushed the limits of Batman’s legend and revitalized Gotham’s seedy underbelly. Let’s see how the fans react to this.
I was actually so excited when I seen that Dick was going to play a roll in TB2, considering he’s my most wanted character in the whole movie, kinda bummed out that he won’t be in it.
— Julien ♉︎ | The Boys S4 & INVINCIBLE S2🩸 (@Jv1i3n_) December 27, 2023
Clayface, Hush, Dick Grayson, Professor Pyg, and Scarecrow
None of them in #TheBatman2?
Or few of them?
— Woodland🔋⚡️📈🌎☀️ (@Woodland_00) December 27, 2023
I’m not mad with scarecrow… IM F**KING TIRED OF THEM ALWAYS PUTTING JOKER IN EVERY MOVIE BATMAN IS… THERE’S PLENTY OF ROUGES TO CHOOSE… WHY THE JOKER AGAIN
— Joseph Jaho (@RealJosephJaho) December 27, 2023
Damn RPK getting packed up 🙁
— Pete (@617repete) December 27, 2023
Tough to believe such words these days after stuff like No Way Home.
— Walt XanderArt (@XanderXCIV) December 27, 2023
It is confirmed that Matt Reeves will helm the film The Batman 2. It is scheduled to be released as part of a trilogy on October 3, 2025.
Also read: Superman: Legacy – James Gunn Confirms Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Connection
Will There Be a Spinoff for The Batman?
Alongside the appropriate sequel, The Penguin, a Max-exclusive series, created by Lauren LeFranc, is scheduled to add to the Batman story. The series is anticipated to debut on the streaming service at some point in 2024, starring an ensemble cast that includes Colin Farrell as Penguin, Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, and Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, among others. In a recent appearance, HBO executive Casey Bloys provided an explanation (via ComicBook).
“I don’t know that it’s necessarily tentpole fatigue as much as it is a sameness of storytelling. I think the key, even within DC, is trying to tell different stories in different styles, to not try to do the same show over and over and over again. I would say Peacemaker is a very different show tonally than The Penguin. So, there’s not a uniformity to the storytelling and I think that helps. Unfortunately, Marvel, as good as their shows are, there’s probably been a lot of them. That’s one of the advantages we have at Warner Bros. is it’s not just one set of stories. There’s a lot of stories you can go to.”
In The Batman Part II, Robert Pattinson will play Batman again; possible cameos from Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis are also included in the cast, though it is not yet official. With a budget of $185–200 million, The Batman (2022) was a commercial success, earning $771 million, and ranking as the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year.
Also read: James Gunn Stays Mum On John Cena’s Peacemaker Season 2 But Gives Major Update On Another DCU Series
The Batman Part II will be released in theaters on October 3, 2025, while The Batman is streaming on Netflix.
