Steven Soderbergh is stepping in to save “The Batman: Part II.”
The director, whose credits include “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Traffic” and more recently “Black Bag,” will complete work on the highly anticipated sequel, which sees Robert Pattinson return to the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, this time joined by Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan.
Warner Bros. said in a statement: “As Matt Reeves continues to attend to an ongoing family matter, Steven Soderbergh, as an admirer of Matt’s work, approached Matt and will step in to help the writer-director complete the final weeks of principal photography on ‘The Batman Part 2.’ Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision of the film.”
Soderbergh added in an official statement: “I thought Matt Reeves’ work on ‘The Batman’ was stunning; it was intentional, specific and rigorously coherent. The goal here is to work with Matt and his team to generate footage that will integrate seamlessly with what’s already been shot so Matt can properly finish his film.”
“The Batman: Part II” follow’s 2022’s “The Batman,” which saw Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in his second year his “Batman Project.” He comes up against the nefarious Riddler (Paul Dano), along with Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) and the Penguin (Colin Farrell), with influences ranging from David Fincher’s “Zodiac” and “Seven” along with Jeph Loeb’s “The Long Halloween” comic book arc. It made $772.3 million globally and set up a new corner of the DC Universe, with a Farrell-starring “The Penguin” series following on HBO.
Back for the sequel are cast members Andy Serkis, Farrell, Jeffrey Wright and Jayme Lawson, with newcomers including Charles Dance, Sebastian Koch, Brian Tyree Henry. Composer Michael Giacchino will also be back, with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt stepping in for Greig Fraser (who is shooting the four Beatles movies for Sony).
“The Batman: Part II” will be produced by Dylan Clark, Reeves, Lynn Harris and DC Films heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Soderbergh’s last film was the controversial documentary “John Lennon: The Last Interview” and before that was the micro-heist movie “The Christophers,” which Neon released earlier this year. He’s also shot second unit on things like “The Hunger Games” and “Magic Mike XXL” (which was directed by his longtime lieutenant Gregory Jacobs).
“The Batman: Part II” currently has a Feb. 18, 2028, release date.
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