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The Batman Part II director puts a stop to huge fan debate that Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader will join the DCU: ‘it’s an Elseworlds story’

AnyFans 2025-09-20

By Tom Power

The Batman Part II director puts a stop to huge fan debate that Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader will join the DCU: 'it's an Elseworlds story'

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The Batman Part II director puts a stop to huge fan debate that Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader will join the DCU: ‘it’s an Elseworlds story’

18 September 2025

It’s official: Matt Reeves’ Bat-Verse won’t be merged with the DCU

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The Batman Epic Crime Saga won’t be folded into the DCU after all
(Image credit: Jonathan Olley/Warner Bros.)

Matt Reeves has updated fans on what to expect from The Batman Part II
The movie’s writer-director says filming will begin in late April or early May 2026
He also teased its main villain and confirmed whether it’ll be part of the DCU

Matt Reeves has shared some new details about The Batman Part II – and all but confirmed whether his Bat-Verse will be folded into the DC Universe (DCU).

Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the 2025 Emmy Awards red carpet, the movie’s co-writer and director revealed that the Robert Pattinson-led franchise will not become part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s nascent cinematic universe.
Responding to Horowitz’s comment that Gunn name-dropped Reeves as someone that the DC Studios co-chief would want to direct a movie set within his and Safran’s rebooted superhero franchise, Reeves said: “I’m very flattered. That’s really kind of James to say and it would be really exciting to work with him. I mean, we’re working with him on this. It’s an Elseworlds [story] but it’s still DC [a DC Studios] production], so it’s theirs [Gunn and Safran’s] as well.”

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Then there’s the mystery about who the film’s primary antagonist will be. The Batman’s main villain was The Riddler but, given the sheer size of the superhero’s rogues gallery, its sequel’s Big Bad could be any number of supervillains.
Predictably, Reeves wouldn’t say which of those had been chosen as the primary foe of Bruce Wayne and his superhuman alias, but teased it could be someone who’s never appeared in a live-action Batman film before.

Hush is another major contender for The Batman 2’s primary antagonist (Image credit: DC Comics)
“One of the explorations for me was to do something that pushes even further into the character of Bruce Wayne,” Reeves said. “The first story is so much about the Batman, and so I always wanted, in the movies, to make sure we get – let’s say we get to make three and I have no idea [if we will] – but if we get to make three, I always wanted the movies to focus on his character.
“Once you get past the origin tale, which we didn’t quite do, but we did something that referred to his origins, you start telling the rogues gallery story,” Reeves continued, “And I never wanted to lose Rob at the center of these stories. So, picking the right villain who digs into that, [and] goes into his past and his life, that’s what drove that discussion. I won’t say who we ended up with, but it’s never really been done in a movie before, so we’re super excited about it.”
So, who could it be? One individual who immediately springs to mind is Hush, who has major ties to Bruce Wayne in the comics? Then there’s the wealthy Gotham-based secret society named The Court of Owls. A fairly recent addition to Batman’s rogues gallery, Wayne believes they were complicit in the deaths of his parents in ‘The New 52’ revamp of DC Comics. Neither party has featured in a live-action Batman flick before and, given their links to Wayne himself, fit both criteria that Reeves alluded to.
But, what do you think? Who could The Batman 2’s villain be? Let me know in the comments.
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Senior Entertainment Reporter

As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.

Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.

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The Batman Part II director puts a stop to huge fan debate that Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader will join the DCU: ‘it’s an Elseworlds story’

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