Steven Soderbergh is stepping in to help complete “The Batman Part II” while director Matt Reeves is on hiatus dealing with a personal matter, Variety has confirmed.
“As Matt Reeves continues to attend to an ongoing family matter, Steven Soderbergh, as an admirer of Matt’s work, approached Matt and will step in, with the full support of DC Studios, to help the writer-director complete the final weeks of principal photography on ‘The Batman Part 2,'” a studio rep said in a statement. “Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision of the film.”
Soderbergh said in his own statement, “I thought Matt Reeves’ work on ‘The Batman’ was stunning; it was intentional, specific and rigorously coherent. The goal here is to work with Matt and his team to generate footage that will integrate seamlessly with what’s already been shot so Matt can properly finish his film.”
Warner Bros. and DC Studios announced “The Batman Part II” production pause in early October, stating that Reeves temporarily stepped away from the project to handle a “family matter.”
“Production on ‘The Batman Part II’ has been temporarily paused while Matt Reeves focuses on a family matter,” a rep said in a statement at the time. “Matt has the full support of DC Studios and we look forward to continuing the journey soon.”
Soderbergh is the Oscar-winning director best known for films “Traffic,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Sex, Lies, and Videotape and “Ocean’s Eleven.” His most recent releases include “The Christophers,” “Black Bag,” “Presence” and “John Lennon: The Last Interview.”
The highly anticipated “Batman” sequel has experienced several delays since it was announced at CinemaCon 2022. The original release date was set for Oct. 2, 2026, before Warner Bros. delayed it to Oct. 1, 2027. In June, the film was pushed again to February 2028. Reeves’ first “Batman” was released in March 2022.
Robert Pattinson returns as the Caped Crusader in “The Batman Part II.” Other cast members include Scarlett Johansson, Colin Farrell, Sebastian Stan, Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright.