The Batman won’t be kept waiting any longer. Just a few days ago we reported on Matt Reeves’s sudden withdrawal from the The Batman: Part II shoot, which brought production to a complete standstill until he could resume work on an unspecified date. The signs suggested the studio would wait for his personal circumstances to be resolved before moving ahead, but there has been a slight change of plans: someone is now stepping in to fill his directing duties.
The person tasked with continuing Reeves’s work during his absence will be Steven Soderbergh, the director of Ocean’s Eleven and Presence. According to the DC Studios statement, it was he who reached out to Matt as a fan of his work to resume his duties during the hiatus. Reeves is said to have given his blessing for the project to proceed and would return to filming alongside him when his personal situation was in a better place.
Not ‘Justice League’
Internal alarms among many DC Comics fans have been triggered by the news, as there are several similarities with respect to the replacement of Zack Snyder in ‘Justice League’. The director had to step away from the project after filming to hand it over to Joss Whedon due to a family tragedy, something that sounds far too similar to Reeves’s situation. Ben Affleck himself, who played Batman on that occasion, spoke about it recently and called it the low point of his career.
However, Warner Bros. knows that this would be making the same mistake twice. Matt Reeves himself has spoken out about the matter on social media, where he confirmed that Soderbergh’s involvement is more than welcome. “Just to be clear, I am not stepping away from ‘The Batman: Part II’. I am deeply grateful to Steven for coming to help me during these difficult moments,” he told his fans.
On Schedule
The help that Soderbergh will provide should keep the feature’s production from stalling, something that has already been delayed on several occasions since the release of Part One in 2022 and as a result, its cast members have had to adjust their calendars accordingly. Warner Bros. is currently targeting a February 18, 2028 release date.
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