‘The Batman 2’: Mattson Tomlin Added as Co-Writer, Matt Reeves Inks Overall Deal at WB
Matt Reeves put out the Bat-signal in the sky, and Mattson Tomlin promptly responded. The two will be co-writing the script of the upcoming sequel to The Batman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tomlin is no stranger to working with Reeves, as he was brought on board to punch up the third act of the strip. Only Reeves and Peter Craig were credited as screenwriters of the film though. Writing on the sequel is expected to begin within the next few weeks. This was announced during CinemaCon earlier this year on the heels of the success of the first film, which made over $770 million worldwide despite hitting HBO Max within 45 days of release.
A recent report by Variety mentioned the movie has not been greenlit yet. This is obviously no cause for panic, as there is no movie to greenlight yet. David Zaslav and his new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery are, from all accounts, fully committed to releasing The Batman 2 and capitalizing on what is working for the DC brand, which includes a costly sequel to 2019’s Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Whenever the studio heads feel confident enough with the script and the movie is budgeted, Warner Bros. will definitely give it a green light.
Moreover, the studio reaffirmed today how invested they are with Matt Reeves and his 6th & Idaho production company. WB Co-Chairs/CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who were personally appointed by Zaslav earlier this year, have signed their first first-look deal with a filmmaker since they signed on. Indeed, Deadline reported earlier today that Reeves and his company have signed an overall first-look film deal with the studio, and have also re-upped the deal he signed over two years ago with the Warner Bros. Television Group and Chairman Channing Dungey. This will allow them to develop the first spin-off series from The Batman, The Penguin starring Colin Farrell, which is reportedly shooting in February.
Reeves celebrated the new deal in a statement:
“Making this legendary studio my home is a dream. I am so excited to be working with Mike, Pam, and Channing and our teams to bring captivating stories I am truly passionate about to the big and small screen.”
De Luca added:
“Pam and I gratefully inherited the relationship with Matt from The Batman, and through the beginning stages of planning The Penguin series for HBO Max. We were excited to nail down his overall deal because it’s a cornerstone of what we want to do with the filmmakers that are working at the studio. We want to create an atmosphere where all of these filmmakers can excel and do their work and stay with us once they are inside the Warners family. Keeping Matt and creating a home for him to do more projects in the Batman universe but also originals, was very important to us.”
With filming for The Batman 2 unlikely to start before the summer of 2023, we are probably looking at a late 2024 or first half of 2025 release date. Robert Pattinson is expected to return, though more plot details are completely unknown at this point. We would guess Zoë Kravitz is coming back as well, but there is no guarantee of that happening in the second installment, as Selina Kyle leaves Gotham at the end of the film.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
