"I Am Not Leaving The Batman Part II," Says Matt Reeves
The director of Traffic and Ocean's Eleven will help shoot the last weeks of the superhero sequel alongside Reeves, who says he is not leaving the film. Production had been paused since early October.
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Oct 16, 22:00 UTC ·
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Steven Soderbergh, director of Traffic, Erin Brockovich and Ocean's Eleven, will help finish shooting The Batman Part II, Warner Bros. and DC Studios said, while its director, Matt Reeves, attends to a family matter. [1]
A studio representative said Soderbergh approached Reeves and will help him complete the final weeks of principal photography, the main stretch of filming with the actors, with the studios' support. [1] The studios say Reeves remains involved.
Reeves said as much himself. He wrote on X, "Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II," and said he was grateful to Soderbergh for helping him finish principal photography. [1][2]
Robert Pattinson returns as Batman, and the reported cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Colin Farrell, Sebastian Stan, Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright. [1][2][3]
The news is still developing. Filming has not finished, and the family matter has not been described publicly.
A pause, then a plan
Variety reported on October 5 that Warner Bros. and DC Studios had announced a temporary production pause while Reeves focused on the family matter. [3] The Soderbergh arrangement surfaced ten days later, on October 15. [1][2] The studio has not publicly said more about the matter. [1][3]
The representative said Reeves and Soderbergh will work closely with the actors and crew to fulfill Reeves's vision for the film. [1]
Soderbergh described his own job in narrow terms. His goal, he said, is to work with Reeves and his team to create footage that integrates seamlessly with what has already been shot, so Reeves can finish the film. [1][2]
Two cities, one film
The Hollywood Reporter added the logistics. It reported that the film is about two-thirds complete, that Soderbergh would work in London while Reeves works from Los Angeles, and that Reeves is expected to be more involved in post-production. [2] Post-production is everything after the cameras stop: editing, visual effects, sound and music.
So a film that is a third unshot will be finished across an ocean from its director. Reeves would be away from the set but present in the editing room, where a film's shape is finally decided.
In my view, the word that carries the arrangement is "seamlessly." A director's film is a long run of small choices about where the camera sits, how long a shot holds, how a face is lit. Soderbergh is being asked to make new choices that look like someone else's old ones. That is closer to finishing a sentence in another person's handwriting than to directing, and it is a task for a filmmaker with a formidable technical range.
It also says something about how a blockbuster of this size runs. A single director's absence can stop a production carrying a large cast and a release date set years ahead.
The shadow of Justice League
Hollywood has a bad memory for this kind of thing, and a good one for the wrong parts of it. The Hollywood Reporter set the new arrangement against the 2017 Justice League, when Joss Whedon replaced Zack Snyder during production. [2]
The facts differ. Snyder was replaced. Reeves says he is staying, the studios say he remains involved, and Soderbergh says he is there to help Reeves finish. [1][2]
The studio's statement about fulfilling Reeves's vision reads, to this writer, as written with that history in mind. Nothing in the reporting says Soderbergh has taken creative control, and everyone on the record says the opposite.
A film already running late
The pause is not the first disruption. The sequel's release date has been delayed more than once, and it now stands at February 18, 2028, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [1][2][3] That is almost six years after the first film reached cinemas in March 2022.
No one has said when filming will resume or when principal photography is expected to wrap. Nor has anyone said whether the new arrangement will move the February 2028 date, or how Reeves will review and approve footage shot while he is in Los Angeles.
The next milestones are the restart and completion of principal photography, then Reeves's work on post-production. [2]
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- Steven Soderbergh to Help Finish 'The Batman 2' variety.com
- 'The Batman Part II: Steven Soderbergh Replacing Matt Reeves hollywoodreporter.com
- 'The Batman 2' Pauses Production as Matt Reeves Steps Away variety.com