Credit: DC/Warner Bros.James Gunn responded to an interesting Batman inquiry…
Almost immediately after taking over at DC Studios, James Gunn, certainly more than Peter Safran, has had more than his fair share of critics. Fans of the franchise are very familiar with the hashtags and campaigns to remove the co-CEO, but Gunn has stood his ground, proffering sequels, original content, and reboots of beloved DC properties. This week, Gunn stood his ground once more, this time about the sequel to the critically acclaimed The Batman (2022).
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For a while, after Gunn and Safran took over, no one really knew what the future of major characters like Batman and Superman held. Even after the major announcement at the end of January, some questions still remained. One thing that Gunn, fortunately, cleared up was the concept of DC Elseworlds. While there is to be a new DC Universe, DC Elseworlds deals with the hypothetical, with stories outside the main DC Universe storyline.
Included in Elseworlds, as per Gunn’s announcement, are two sequels to popular DC films: Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) and The Batman: Part II (2025). Though not official canon, it’s an extremely wise move for DC to make room for these films, as the predecessor to each was very popular. Not only does it make financial sense for the studio, but it will avoid alienating a fanbase that is already somewhat discontent. This discontentment was evidenced by recent comments on Twitter, to which Gunn responded in characteristic style.
The Direct reported on a Tweet that has since been removed, which expressed concern that Gunn pushed back the release date of The Batman sequel so as to be able to exercise more influence over the film. Gunn responded, saying that was untrue and that Part II is on schedule to be released as soon as possible:
@JamesGunn responded:
I’m not sure where you’re getting your production dates, but Batman 2 is coming out as early as it possibly can, with enough time for Matt to do what he needs to do to make it as great as possible.
I'm not sure where you're getting your production dates, but Batman 2 is coming out as early as it possibly can, with enough time for Matt to do what he needs to do to make it as great as possible.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 7, 2023
This only further confirms what Gunn and others at DC studios have said: Gunn is minimally involved with ongoing projects, trusting directors like Matt Reeves to create their vision on their own. It also speaks to the quality of The Batman: Part II, showing that Reeves and others need the time to make the sequel the best that it can be.
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The Batman: Part II comes to theaters on October 3, 2025, and stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon. There are few details about the plot of the film, but fans can expect the action to pick up after the events of the Colin Ferrell-headed The Penguin series, which will be released shortly on HBO Max.
What do you think about Gunn’s response? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!