When news breaks about DC Films of late, the echo chamber that is Film Twitter cues up its best impression of The Naked Gun. You know the scene.
Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) stands in front of a building as pandemonium unfolds behind him and calmly assures onlookers “Nothing to see here!” as sparks (and bodies) fly. Sometimes, such a reaction is justified and sometimes it’s not, and then sometimes there are no words.
In a semi-recent piece breaking down the latest happenings at Warner Bros., Variety brought up the status of Matt Reeves‘ as-yet-untitled sequel to The Batman:
“Writer-director Matt Reeves is on track for a sequel with star Robert Pattinson, but the project remains in development and does not yet have a greenlight – any future film is years away.”
The good people of Film Twitter erupted with questions — ‘no greenlight yet?!? There must be a problem!’– and many of these people are supposed to be well-informed pundits. So let the incident serve as a litmus test for who you get your news from, dear reader.
Just do me a favor… take a step back from the keyboard for a moment, maybe sit down if you aren’t already and take a deep breath. Let the blood flow through your veins. Alright… have you calmed down? Good.
There is nothing wrong with The Batman sequel.
Anyone reacting as if there is something wrong must, with all due respect, have zero comprehension of how films are made.
See, Warner Bros. has to have a script first, which they do not yet, nor will they receive a draft until the very end of this year, at the earliest. Once the script is read and approved, then comes estimating the budget… because the studio needs to know how much everything is going to cost so it can decide whether or not it wants to pay for it. And then, once all the i’s have been dotted, the t’s have been crossed, and deal terms have been agreed to, then, and only then, do we have a greenlight.
As for the “years away” comment, yes, The Batman sequel will be years away. Three years to be exact, as it should arrive in theaters by July 2025 at the latest.
Meanwhile, star Robert Pattinson is currently filming the sci-fi thriller Mickey7 for Bong Joon-ho. That film is expected to shoot for the remainder of this year. Be prepared for Pattinson to book another (potentially smaller) film afterward that will shoot next year, and then he will dust off the cape-and-cowl.
In all probability, cameras will roll on The Batman sequel in early-to-mid 2024.
If you hear any pundits doing their best Chicken Little routines and suggesting that the sky is falling in Gotham, consider finding an alternative source for your punditry, as that little line in Variety wasn’t half the deal that some people, many of whom should know better, made it out to be.
For once, listen to Detective Drebin. Nothing to see here…
