Matt Reeves Teases The Batman Part II’s Never-Before-Seen Big-Screen Villain

The Batman sequel has finally crawled out of the shadows. After a long, quiet stretch, Matt Reeves is actually putting dates on it and teasing what sounds like a pretty different angle for round two.

"We start shooting [the film] in spring, probably around the end of April or beginning of May," Reeves told Variety's Marc Malkin on the Emmys red carpet. "It’s been a long journey, but I am so incredibly excited. I’m really proud of the script me and Mattson [Tomlin] did, and we’ve started to share it with Robert [Pattinson]."

That shooting window is the first concrete sign the follow-up to the 2022 hit is actually moving. Reeves is still playing the usual superhero-secret game, but he did drop a few nuggets about where his head is at this time.

More Bruce Wayne, not just the mask

In a red carpet chat with Josh Horowitz, Reeves said the sequel leans harder into Bruce Wayne after the first movie kept us very inside the Batman persona. He noted that a lot of post-origin Bat-movies pivot to a big Rogues Gallery showcase. He does not want to lose Robert Pattinson at the center, and that focus on Bruce informed the choice of the main villain.

Speaking of the villain: Variety says expect a fresh pick or at least a fresh interpretation. Reeves went a step further and teased that the primary antagonist has "never really been done in a movie before." That is a bold claim for a character with 80-plus years of screen history, so file that under intriguing.

Inside baseball: the script is literally under lock and key

Because nothing invites leaks like a massively anticipated sequel, Reeves described a Mission: Impossible-level delivery system for Pattinson’s copy. They put the script in a coded, locked pouch and sent it to him while he was in New York. High security all around. After he read it, they actually let him keep his copy, which Reeves chalked up to trusting Pattinson’s professionalism. Translation: he’s not the guy who leaves the goods in a coffee shop.

What we actually know right now

• Shoot window: spring, targeting late April or early May.
• Script by Matt Reeves and Mattson Tomlin; Pattinson has read it.
• Story emphasis shifts more toward Bruce Wayne, keeping Pattinson squarely at the center.
• Main villain choice was driven by that Bruce-first angle; Reeves says this take has not really been done in a movie before.
• Variety describes the antagonist as a fresher pick or fresher interpretation.
• Reeves shared the timeline with Variety’s Marc Malkin on the Emmys red carpet and teased the focus/villain in a separate red carpet interview with Josh Horowitz.
• Script security included a locked, code-protected pouch; Pattinson was in New York when he received it and was allowed to keep his copy.

Bottom line: cameras roll this spring, the Bruce side of the coin gets more of the spotlight, and the big bad is either new to the big screen or a new spin. If Reeves sticks the landing he’s hinting at, this could feel like a different kind of Batman sequel, not just another swing through the rogues carousel.