Steven Soderbergh is stepping in to help finish principal photography on The Batman Part II while writer-director Matt Reeves attends to an ongoing family matter, Deadline reported Thursday. Variety later confirmed the news, and DC Studios addressed the move in a statement.
“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,” the studio said. “Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision of the film.”
According to Deadline, the two directors will stay in communication until filming ends, and Reeves will take over post-production when he is ready to return.
Reeves: “I am not leaving”
Reeves addressed the news himself on X. “Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II,” he wrote. “I am profoundly grateful to Steven for coming to my aid during this challenging time to help me finish principal photography. Thank you to all for your concern and well wishes.”
Soderbergh, the Oscar-winning director of Traffic and Erin Brockovich, said his job is to match what Reeves has already shot. “I thought Matt Reeves’ work on The Batman was stunning; it was intentional, specific, and rigorously coherent,” he said. “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.”
A paused shoot and a 2028 date
Warner Bros. and DC Studios paused production in early October so Reeves could focus on the family matter. Deadline reports that filming had been underway in London before the pause. At the time, the studio said Reeves had its full support and that it looked forward to “continuing the journey soon,” according to Variety.
The Batman Part II is set to open in theaters on February 18, 2028. Deadline’s sources say it is too early to know whether the stoppage will affect that date. Variety notes the sequel has already moved several times: it was first dated for October 2, 2026, then pushed to October 1, 2027, and moved to February 2028 in June.
Robert Pattinson returns as Batman, with Andy Serkis back as Alfred and Colin Farrell back as the Penguin. Deadline lists Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry, Jayme Lawson, Charles Dance, Gil Perez-Abraham and Sebastian Koch as new additions to the cast. Reeves’ first film, The Batman, opened in March 2022 and grossed $772.8 million worldwide, according to Deadline.
