James Gunn Defends Matt Reeves Amid THE BATMAN: PART II Delays: “People Should Get Off Matt’s Nuts"
James Gunn isn’t here for your impatience and he’s making that clear when it comes to The Batman: Part II. With the sequel’s release date pushed to 2027 and some fans getting antsy, Gunn is stepping in to remind everyone that storytelling takes time, especially when the person behind it is someone as meticulous and committed as Matt Reeves.
Originally slated for 2025, The Batman: Part II has seen multiple delays, now targeting an October 1, 2027 release. But according to Gunn, there’s a very simple reason behind the wait. He previously said:
“The only reason for the delay is there isn’t a full script (those of you who follow me here probably know that already). Matt’s committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write.
“Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting and post-production on big films.”
Gunn recently told Entertainment Weekly that a script draft is expected soon.
“I hope that happens. We feel really good about it. Matt’s excited. I talk to Matt all the time. I’m totally excited about it. So we can’t wait to read the scripts, but we haven’t read it yet.”
Reeves is teaming up with Mattson Tomlin again for the screenplay. While that’s been happening, Reeves hasn’t exactly been idle. He’s been overseeing HBO’s The Penguin, co-producing the upcoming animated series Batman: Caped Crusader, and is involved with the horror-themed Clayface movie being developed for Gunn’s DC Universe.
Still, the online pressure to hurry things along hasn’t gone unnoticed by Gunn, who didn’t hold back.
“People should get off Matt’s nuts because it’s like, let the guy write the screenplay in the amount of time he needs to write it. That’s just the way it is. He doesn’t owe you something because you like his movie. I mean, you like his movie because of Matt. So let Matt do things the way he does.”
Gunn also added that Reeves doesn’t pay much attention to social media chatter, but the criticism has gotten under his skin.
“He’s got a lot of other things happening, so I don’t think he lets it affect him. He’s fine. But I am irritated by people.”
And then came the mic-drop moment:
“It’s just that thing people don’t need to be entitled about. It’s going to come out when he feels good about the screenplay. And Matt’s not going to give me the screenplay until he feels good about the screenplay.”
Reeves himself acknowledged back in January that Batman: Part II is “taking longer than I would have wanted,” but also said, “I’m super excited about what we’re doing, so I really can’t wait to share that with everybody.”
He also confirmed he’s interested in more spin-offs once the sequel is underway: “The big priority is to get The Batman 2 shooting and going. And then it’ll be exciting where we’ll go from there.”
With Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, and Jeffrey Wright all expected to return, The Batman: Part II is shaping up to be worth the wait… if fans can keep their cool.