By the time The Batman Part 2 finally releases, it will have been more than five years since the first movie hit cinemas. The Batman launched worldwide on March 4th, 2022, while the sequel is currently scheduled to arrive on October 1st, 2027.
Even as I sit here writing this, we still have around 16 months left to wait.
So, has The Batman Part 2 taken too long, or is the criticism unfair?
Honestly? I’m torn.
There are understandable reasons as to why we’ve ended up here. The SAG-AFTRA strikes brought much of Hollywood to a standstill, delaying countless television shows and movies. Then there was the huge shake-up at DC itself. James Gunn and Peter Safran took over, the old DCEU was scrapped, and a brand-new DC Universe was born. Given the state of things beforehand, that reboot was probably necessary.
Even with all of that taken into consideration, though, it doesn’t change the fact that fans have been waiting a very long time.
Let’s look at some previous Batman movies and the gaps between them:
Batman → Batman Returns = 3 years
Batman Returns → Batman Forever = 3 years
Batman Forever → Batman & Robin = 2 years
Batman Begins → The Dark Knight = 3 years
The Dark Knight → The Dark Knight Rises = 4 years
The Batman → The Batman Part II = 5 years 7 months
That’s a record for a direct live-action Batman sequel.
The bigger concern isn’t Robert Pattinson’s age or whether Matt Reeves still has a story to tell. It’s momentum. The Batman was a huge success when it was released. Fans loved the darker detective-focused approach, and Pattinson quickly won over many of the people who doubted his casting.
The question is whether some of that momentum has been lost.
To put things into perspective, let’s compare it to another major superhero franchise.
Spider-Man: Homecoming → Spider-Man: Far From Home = 1 year 11 months
Spider-Man: Far From Home → Spider-Man: No Way Home = 2 years 5 months
Spider-Man: No Way Home → Spider-Man: Brand New Day = 4 years 7 months
Marvel managed to release three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies during the period, while DC has managed just one Matt Reeves Batman movie.
Now, that’s not a perfect comparison. Spider-Man exists within the MCU, while The Batman is very much its own separate universe. Still, it highlights just how unusual this wait has become.
At the same time, there is another side to the argument.
If The Batman Part 2 turns out to be exceptional, nobody will care how long it took. Fans waited years for movies such as Top Gun: Maverick, and the quality of the finished product made the delay feel irrelevant almost overnight. Quality has a funny way of making people forget how long they’ve been waiting.
That’s why I’m not sitting here demanding Warner Bros. rush the movie out the door. The last thing I want is a sequel that arrives before it’s ready. Matt Reeves earned a lot of trust with the first film, and if he needs extra time to get the story right, then that’s understandable.
However, from a fan’s perspective, I do think it has taken too long.
More than four years after the first film’s release, we’ve had very little to sink our teeth into beyond occasional casting reports and production updates. That’s a tough sell for any fanbase, especially when DC is currently generating excitement elsewhere with projects like Superman and the wider DC Universe.
To be fair, it’s not all doom and gloom. Filming has finally started, which means we’re no longer stuck in that endless cycle of rumours, delays and “the script is nearly finished” updates. After years of waiting, The Batman Part 2 is finally moving forward. That’s something Batman fans can take comfort in, even if October 2027 still feels a lifetime away.
Am I excited for The Batman Part 2? Absolutely.
The Batman remains my favourite DC movie of all time, and I genuinely cannot wait to see where Matt Reeves takes this version of Gotham next.
But while I believe the sequel will probably be worth the wait, I also think it’s fair for fans to ask why that wait has stretched beyond five years.
Hopefully, when October 2027 finally arrives, we’ll all agree it was worth it.
