Just this week, Ben Affleck opened up old wounds when he went on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz and discussed his very sour experience on 2017’s Justice League, calling the reshoots “the low point of my career.” For those who don’t remember, Zack Snyder left that project in 2017 after the death of his daughter, Autumn, and was swiftly replaced by Joss Whedon by Warner Bros. Affleck, of course, believes that was just “used as an excuse” to get Snyder out of the picture. He called the whole experience “so gross” and, ultimately, it led to him walking away from directing his solo Batman film (which would have starred Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke).
Now, in 2026, fans are calling out a similar pattern as Matt Reeves has stepped away from filming The Batman Part II to focus on a family tragedy. Warner Bros. has once again swiftly replaced the director – this time with Steven Soderbergh, who will handle the final weeks of filming in London.
The good news is that Reeves took to social media to reveal that he isn’t leaving the film at all and the February 18, 2028 release date hasn’t moved yet. Instead, he’ll begin working on post-production while Soderbergh shoots.
Of course, this news has already gotten plenty of reactions from fans online. Many are already pointing to Warner Bros. and DC’s past and their failed relationships with superhero film directors: Zack Snyder, David Ayer, Richard Donner, Tim Burton, Patty Jenkins, Rick Famuyiwa, Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah… It’s a long list.
Even though Warner Bros. now belongs to Skydance, it seems they’ve already inherited the old DC habit too. Paramount Skydance closed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, debt included, on October 6, with James Gunn and Peter Safran continuing to run DC Studios. That very same week, The Batman Part II halted production.
Reeves stepped away from the London shoot to handle a family matter, while DC Studios said it had paused production and backed him fully. Based on what we’ve seen on social media (which had plenty of behind-the-scenes leaks), filming had started over the summer with Robert Pattinson, joined by newcomers Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan and Charles Dance, and the film was deep into production.
A few days after, there were rumors on comic book social media accounts that Gunn would step in and take over production. That was, of course, untrue. Instead, it’s believed that Soderbergh approached Reeves about helping out and the studio framed it as the seasoned filmmaker taking over for another filmmaker he respects. Reeves then put out his own statement on X explaining the situation: : “Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II.” He also thanked Soderbergh for his assistance.
Still, you can forgive anyone who flinched at the news. Is Warner Bros. doing Reeves dirty too?
Whedon took over Justice League (39% on Rotten Tomatoes) from Snyder in 2017, and the results were nothing short of terrible. Fans estimated the reshoots added 60 pages of new material not in the original script. The finished movie made $227 million in the US and ran 1 hour 59 minutes – even though it had a number of strange problems. Remember Superman’s mouth looking off? The reshoots ran so long that Henry Cavill couldn’t shave the mustache he’d grown for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, so Warner Bros. erased it with CGI and altered his upper lip in the process. Fans noticed.
RELATED: Matt Reeves Revealed a Key Costume Change in The Batman Part II, But Hardly Anybody Noticed
Then came the aftermath. Gal Gadot accused Whedon of threatening her on set, which he denied, and Ray Fisher accused him of abusive behavior. It was all very bad PR for everyone involved.
It wasn’t until March 2021, that fans got to see Snyder’s original vision: a 4-hour-2-minute cut (71% on Rotten Tomatoes) released on HBO Max.
Right now, the two productions differ in one very big way, though: Whedon replaced Snyder, while Soderbergh arrives with Reeves’s blessing, and Reeves stays attached as director. At least that’s what is being reported and true… for now. Like with Justice League, more details might be revealed years from now.
The other confusing part of this new setup is whether or not Soderbergh will actually get a credit alongside Reeves. And beyond that, Soderbergh actually has never made a Batman film, or any superhero film for that matter, before. He told a Tokyo audience in 2017 that the Ocean’s trilogy was “the closest I’ll ever come to [making] a superhero film.” In 2022 he told The Daily Beast “I’m not a snob,” and then said he didn’t know where to start with the genre.
But his lack of experience in the genre isn’t necessarily a negative. He is a very good director – possibly one of the best working today. And he’s got an impressive filmography to back him up. Soderbergh won the Best Director Oscar for Traffic in 2001 and made Ocean’s Eleven and Magic Mike. So no, his craft isn’t in doubt at all. It’s just that he has a very different style to Reeves – but probably not one that he couldn’t duplicate. He also works as his own cinematographer and editor, which suits a job that means matching someone else’s visual plan on a tight schedule.
Soderbergh called Reeves’s first film, The Batman (85% on Rotten Tomatoes), “stunning,” so he at least knows what he’s matching. Let’s just say he’s a much better fit than Gunn is.
It’s been a long ride for The Batman fans. Warner Bros. first announced The Batman Part II in 2022 for a 2025 release. It slid to October 2, 2026, then October 1, 2027, and now sits at February 18, 2028, nearly six years after the first film made $772 million worldwide in March 2022.
It doesn’t need more delays, but another one wouldn’t sink it. What would sink it is another Josstice League situation. Let’s hope nobody has to campaign for a Reeves Cut later on.
RELATED: Sebastian Stan Says The Batman Part II Feels Like ‘F—ing Godfather Part Two’
The first film is available on HBO Max in the US, or to rent or buy from Amazon, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.
The Batman Part II |
|---|
N/A |
 |
|---|
| Studio: DC Studios, 6th & Idaho, Dylan Clark Productions, Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Running Time: N/A |
| Release Date: February 18, 2028 |
| Cast: Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Charles Dance |
| Director: Matt Reeves |
| Writers: Matt Reeves, Mattson Tomlin |
| Genre: Action, Crime, Mystery, Superhero |
| Box Office: N/A |
