Warner Brothers have pushed The Batman Part II, understood to star Barry Keoghan, to a 2026 release. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s remake of The Bride of Frankenstein starring Jessie Buckley will take its place on October 3rd, 2025.
Originally slated for release on October 3rd, 2025, The Batman Part II has been pushed back to a 2026 release. It is understood the date change for the film stems from the Hollywood strikes, which disrupted studio production for close to six months last year.
Warner Brothers will release Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Bride!, a remake of The Bride of Frankenstein starring Jessie Buckley (Fingernails), in the film’s stead on October 3rd, 2025. Buckley is joined by Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Peter Sarsgaard (The Batman), with Annette Bening (Nyad) and Penelope Cruz (Volver). Gyllenhall will direct and produce, with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Talia Kleinhendler, and Osnat Handelsman-Keren producing also.
The cast of The Batman Part II includes Robert Pattinson (Twilight), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), and Andy Serkis (Death of a Superhero). Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) is believed to be reprising his role as the Joker, as teased in 2021’s The Batman, and having spoken in an interview with The New York Times in 2022 about how he intends to distinguish his performance from previous iterations of the character:
“It was intimidating, but if you stay true to yourself, that in itself is new. I know that sounds pretty lame, but I'm a big believer that if I'm myself, whatever I do is going to be completely fresh and unique. I already have a backstory that I've created in case it [The Batman Part II] does happen - a totally fresh way of playing him.”
More recently, Keoghan was asked in a Vanity Fair interview, “You’re also playing the Joker in DC’s The Batman 2. What do you want your career to look like going forward?”, to which the actor responded:
“The filmmaker and the role and the story are the three boxes that need ticking. I just want to collaborate with people who are out there trying to bring a new approach to it, people that want to take risks.”
However, Keoghan is yet to explicitly announce his return to the franchise, stating in an interview with Etalk when asked about his involvement with the sequel:
“I can’t really say anything about that. It would be exciting, wouldn’t it? To see the Joker come to life again… My smile says it all, you know what I mean?”
