Long-Delayed New Batman Movie Filming Halted as Director Deals With ‘Family Matter’

Production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily paused as director Matt Reeves steps away to focus on a family matter.

Warner Bros. and DC Studios confirmed the production stoppage Monday, saying Reeves has the studio’s full support.

“Production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily paused while Matt Reeves focuses on a family matter,” the studio said in a statement. “Matt has the full support of DC Studios and we look forward to continuing the journey soon.”

Filming had been underway in London before the pause. The highly anticipated sequel is currently scheduled to hit theaters Feb. 18, 2028. Sources told Deadline it is too early to determine whether the production stoppage will affect the film’s release date.

Robert Pattinson is set to return as Bruce Wayne and Batman, alongside Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin.

The sequel also features several new cast members, including Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry, Jayme Lawson, Charles Dance, Gil Perez-Abraham, and Sebastian Koch.

The production pause comes after a lengthy development process for the follow-up to 2022’s The Batman. Reeves previously acknowledged that getting the sequel’s script into shape had taken longer than expected, in part due to unspecified “personal reasons.”

In September 2025, Reeves confirmed that he had submitted the script and said the team was preparing to begin production.

“We’re getting ready. We’re basically entering prep. We’ll be making the movie in the spring,” Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s been a journey that is taking longer than I would’ve wanted for a lot of reasons, a lot of personal reasons, but most important reason is getting it to a place where I just felt like it was the best script we could possibly write.”

The Batman, released March 4, 2022, became a major box-office success, earning $772 million worldwide.

Reeves has also said the sequel will maintain the detective-story elements that defined the first movie.

“Obviously because of what the first movie was and what this movie is, which is so much a detective story, the idea of trying to protect the secrets of the movie is super important because it’s a mystery,” he said. “It would be an extra level of heartbreak if that part of it started getting out.”