Robert Pattinson's Batman 2 Won't Join James Gunn's DCU — Director Teases Exciting DCU Future

Quick gut-check for anyone still holding out hope that Robert Pattinson might stroll into James Gunn's DCU: not happening. Matt Reeves just drew a bright line between his Bat-verse and the Gunn/Safran machine, while also leaving the door open to play in their sandbox someday.

• The Batman Part 2 is officially an Elseworlds movie and will not merge with the DCU.
• Reeves is open to directing something in the DCU down the road if it makes sense.
• The Gunn/Safran DCU (with David Corenswet as Superman) is separate from Reeves' Gotham, which also includes The Penguin.
• Contrary to earlier chatter, Mike Flanagan's Clayface movie is part of the DCU, not Reeves' world.
• The DCU still has not cast its own, tonally different Batman.
• Pattinson remains Bruce Wayne in the Elseworlds corner.
• The Batman Part 2 is aiming for October 1, 2027, after being pushed from the originally floated October 2025.
• Per Puck News, production is expected to start in 2026 to make that 2027 date.
• The first film pulled in $772 million on a $200 million budget and scored three Oscar nominations, which fast-tracked the sequel.
• Reeves is noncommittal on a Part 3 happening anytime soon, if at all.

Reeves draws the map: Elseworlds stays Elseworlds

On the Emmys red carpet, Reeves told Josh Horowitz that his Bat-saga is its own thing and will stay that way. He did not slam the door on doing a DCU project, though. In his words:

"I mean, that's really kind of James [Gunn] to say, and it would be really exciting to work with them, of course. I mean, we're working with them on [The Batman Part 2]. It's a DC - It's Elseworlds, but it's DC, so it's theirs as well. What the future brings and what I'm doing will be clear when it comes."

Translation: The Batman Part 2 lives in an alternate lane under the DC umbrella, and everyone is friendly, but there is no master plan to fuse Pattinson into the main DCU. If Gunn calls with the right DCU idea, Reeves would listen.

Two Batmen, two lanes

Here is where it gets a little inside baseball. Gunn and Peter Safran are steering a new, unified DCU that starts in earnest with David Corenswet as Superman. That continuity does not include Reeves' The Batman or its spinoff The Penguin, which remain in the Elseworlds label. Also notable: despite earlier reports, Mike Flanagan's Clayface movie is a DCU project. The DCU has not revealed its Batman yet, and whoever gets that cowl will be a different, tonally distinct take from Pattinson's.

The clock now reads 2027

Hard to believe, but we are three years out from The Batman landing in 2022. After some calendar shuffling, Part 2 is now set for October 1, 2027. Puck News says cameras are expected to roll in 2026 to hit that date. The first movie was a big win, clearing $772 million worldwide on a $200 million budget and picking up three Oscar nominations, which is why the sequel got a quick greenlight. As for a Part 3? Reeves is not promising anything soon, and maybe not at all. For now, it is all eyes on Part 2, staying right where it belongs: outside the DCU, by design.