‘The Batman 2’ release date delayed to 2027

Moviegoers will have to wait a little longer to return to Gotham City, as Matt Reeves’ sequel to “The Batman” has been pushed back to 2027. The superhero sequel was originally set to open on October 2, 2026, but will now switch years and open October 1, 2027 in Imax, Warner Bros. announced. Friday.

That left an opening for Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Tom Cruise’s upcoming film to hit theaters in 2026, just as the awards season race begins. The still-untitled film will premiere in Imax on Oct. 2, the date “The Batman 2” leaves.

Warner Bros. made some additional tweaks to its upcoming release list, swapping the openings of Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” Now, “Mickey 17,” starring Robert Pattinson (who plays the Dark Knight in Reeves’ comic series), opens on March 7, 2025, while “Sinners,” reprising Coogler with his “Black Panther” and “Fruitvale Station” star Michael B. Jordan shifts back to April 18, 2025. That’s the date “Mickey 17” was originally scheduled to debut, but the new release will allow Bong’s film to play longer in Imax, according to studio sources.

The Cruise and Iñárritu film is shrouded in secrecy, but according to the official logline provided by Warner Bros. released, it follows “the most powerful man in the world” as he “embarks on a frenetic mission to prove himself the savior of humanity before the disaster he’s about to unleash destroys everything.” The all-star cast includes Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde and Riz Ahmed. Legendary Entertainment, the studio behind “Dune,” is producing the film. It’s a change of pace for Cruise, who has been busy saving the world in more conventional action movies like “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Iñárritu is a two-time Oscar winner whose credits include “Birdman” and “The Revenant.” The pairing seems like a throwback to Cruise’s earlier career, when he teamed up with A-list auteurs such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Paul Thomas Anderson.

“Mickey 17” follows a man (Pattinson) whose job is to die for a living. The cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun and Toni Collette. The film has had several release date changesand was originally intended to hit theaters in the spring of 2024.

“Sinners” is a horror film that features Jordan as twin brothers who return home to find “an even greater evil.” The ensemble also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller and Delroy Lindo. Moving the date for “Sinners” was partly due to a lack of post-production facilities to help put the finishing touches on the film. “Sinners” was shot on film, compounding these problems.

“The Batman” debuted in 2022, just as the movie industry was shaking off the impact of COVID shutdowns. It grossed more than $770 million globally and was praised for its moody, atmospheric version of its title character. The film also inspired the HBO spinoff series “The Penguin”. In a recent meeting with Zoë Kravitz, who appeared as Catwoman, Reeves said he was finishing the script for the sequel and planned “to shoot next year.”