"The Batman 2" Filming Delayed as Writers' Strike Continues

The highly-anticipated sequel to Warner Bros.’s “The Batman” is the latest big-budget project to fall victim to delays as a result of the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) strike taking place in the United States.

The WGA strike began on May 2. More than 11,000 members of the WGA Writers are taking action over pay and a greater share of the profits from streaming services.

They are also campaigning for a higher salary floor and would like reassurances regarding fears on the use of artificial intelligence in scriptwriting, asking the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for a guarantee that it won’t be “used as source material,” thereby negating the need for actual writers.

The WGA strike is still ongoing as AMPTP's unwillingness to negotiate with writers on issues such as fair pay.

The film's director, Maat Reeves also acts as a writer on the film alongside Mattson Tomlin, both of whom have been actively involved in the strike.

"The Batman 2" will now begin shooting next year, having initially set to begin filming on November 23 in London.

According to Midgard Times, the sequel will start shooting in March 2024. The delay is not, however, expected to have an impact on the movie's release date of October 3, 2025.

The project's script was luckily completed mere days before the strike began, with shooting not expected to take place until next year.

This is not the only Batman property to face delays due to the strike, as "The Penguin" — a spinoff series based on Collin Farrell's character in "The Batman" — halted production indefinitely after having begun back in March. 

Farrell is also set to return to reprise his role in "The Batman 2". Joining Farrell in the sequel will be Robert Pattinson as the titular caped crusader and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman.

The film is produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and will be set to have Dylan Clark, Geoff Johns, and Michael Uslan on board as producers. 

"The Batman 2" is expected to pick up where the first movie left off, with Gotham having nearly been destroyed due to a flood caused by the Riddler — and with the movie's end credit scene teasing an appearance of the Joker played by Barry Keoghan, the city will no doubt be in a vulnerable state ready for the iconic villain to take control.

"The Batman" was released in March 2021 and met with tremendous praise and success.

In April, Warner Bros. announced a sequel was in development, which will see Reeves returning as director and Pattinson as the Caped Crusader.

Reeves signed a deal with DC Studios and is planning on creating a separate universe for his future projects, referred to as “The Batverse".

This will allow more Batman movies and spinoffs to operate independently of the cinematic universe that Gunn and Safran are planning on forming.