DC Studios co-head James Gunn has confirmed that The Batman: Part II and The Batman: Part III will not shoot back-to-back, putting to rest fan speculation that director Matt Reeves might film both sequels in a single production run.

Responding to a fan on Threads who asked whether the two films would be made simultaneously, Gunn replied plainly: "I can deny." Deadline

Shooting back-to-back — filming two instalments in one extended production — can save studios money on sets, locations and cast availability. Peter Jackson did it for The Lord of the Rings; the Matrix sequels tried it, too. It also locks a director into years of post-production on two films at once, which is one reason most productions avoid it.

The Batman: Part II has been a long time coming. Gunn revealed in July that the script was finished, following several delays. A letter to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders earlier in August confirmed that filming is set to begin in the spring. Director Matt Reeves was already at work at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the UK in May, teasing test shots of Robert Pattinson in the Batsuit alongside the Batmobile in a snowy winter setting. Deadline

Warner Bros. has pushed the film's release to 18 February 2028 — a date that has already moved more than once. The original The Batman, released in March 2022, grossed over $770 million worldwide.

Gunn, who oversees DC's film and television slate alongside Peter Safran, has used his Threads account (1.8 million followers) as a regular channel for clarifying DC Universe plans. He has said that Reeves' Batman films can be treated as prequel stories to the new DCU — the shared continuity Gunn is building, starting with his own Superman film. He has also stated that he has no intention of retelling Batman and Superman's origin stories.

For fans, the denial of back-to-back filming means a longer wait between sequels, but also that Reeves gets to make each film on its own terms — writing, shooting, and finishing one before moving to the next. Whether that pace satisfies a studio that has already shifted the release date twice is a separate question, and one Gunn did not address.

Gunn has said he will be at the opening night of The Batman: Part II. The film arrives in theatres 18 February 2028.