James Gunn Reacts to Rumors 'The Batman 2' Is Canceled
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James Gunn wants you to know "The Batman 2" is still on the way. The co-head of DC Studios spoke to Rolling Stone as part of the promotional lead-up to "Superman" and was asked about the rumors that the sequel had been scrapped.
Gunn not only responded that the sequel was still in the works, but he seemed somewhat frustrated at the reports.
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"It's not canceled," Gunn said. "We don't have a script. Matt's slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he's doing. God, people are mean. Let him do his thing, man."
Zoe Kravitz and Robert Pattinson in "The Batman".
Zoe Kravitz and Robert Pattinson in "The Batman".
Warner Bros.
While Gunn's frustration may be understandable, it's likewise difficult to blame fans for wondering about the status of the sequel. Production on "The Batman 2" was supposed to begin at some point this year, but as Gunn himself notes, writer/director Matt Reeves has yet to finish the script.
There's also the fact that, even if production on "The Batman 2" isn't delayed, the film won't hit theaters until the second half of 2027, over five years after the first movie bowed.
In comparison, both Tim Burton's "Batman Returns" and Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" were released three years after their predecessors.
There's also the question of whether or not Robert Pattinson might age out of the role. The "Twilight" alum was 35 when "The Batman" hit theaters in 2022 and will be in his forties by the time "The Batman 2" sees the light of day.
Pattinson himself even joked about the age difference back in March. Asked whether or the sequel would come out soon, Pattinson said, "I f---ing hope so. I started out as young Batman and I'm going to be f---ing old Batman by the sequel."
Along with DC Studios still standing firmly behind "The Batman 2", Gunn also commented on "The Brave and the Bold", saying it was one his biggest priorities.
"I'm not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right," Gunn said. "Our 2 priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman & our Batman scripts."
Fans desperate for new Batman content have some good news. "Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League" has its streaming debut coming on July 3 on Max. The sequel to 2018's "Batman Ninja" pits the Dark Knight against warped anime versions of the Justice League.
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Highly Anticipated 'Batman' Anime Reveals Release Date
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And it's especially in these kind of circumstances in his other films, the originality behind the math that went into looking at that pocket universe, and that progression in the story comparing the kaiju moments in the various films Wētā's done, because you worked with Sam Raimi on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as well, and I really like how… those same influences I think were inspiring both takes and both appeals. [It's] some of my favorite of the work that you do, actually. GW: I mean, to be totally transparent we're very much nerds. We love the emotion of the storytelling. We love the power of cinema. You know, cinema isn't just telling a story and putting some characters on the screen. 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So we often talk in terms of the emotion. Because then, you know, he's just like, 'It's too vibrant. This part of the movie, you know, I'm supposed to feel bad for Superman.' He'll say stuff like that, and then we'll all work together to drive down that path. Because, I mean, the thing that people don't understand when you're making anything, you often start from nothing. So it's not like we know what we're trying to get to. We're all working to craft the summation of the results so that when it's finished, it feels like it was always planned that way. And James's job is to be the guy sitting in front, dragging us all, you know, the composer bringing us all along. But we're all there to help and understand the emotion that you're talking about. Because if you don't, then the audience won't feel it. There's a small little sidebar here, which is, it's one thing to talk about making a scene feel a certain way. It's another thing-- one of the things we talk about all the time is readability. It's another thing to make sure that not only does it feel that way, but that everything you're adding emotionally doesn't detract from anything else. So as much as we might want to make it dark, we don't want it to be so dark that you can't see action. As much as we might want to keep the character moody, we don't want him to be so moody that you can't read his performance. It's always like, you want to push in a direction, but you've always got to be sympathetic to every other direction that you're trying to maintain. So a good result pushes all the walls as far out as they can go instead of pulling the walls towards the one point you're trying to get to. So it's an interesting game. It's an interesting process trying to figure out the best way through all that. 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And you're all so good at it. So it feels like Gunn knows he can hand that off to you. A lot of filmmakers don't necessarily know what they can and can't handle or hand off and that you're going to understand what his vibe is with that. And it's, as you said, it's because it's a filmmaker who knows what he wants, has that vision, and then he knows who he needs to work with that he can hand it off to… He knows when you do that pocket universe at the end, you're all doing your part and it comes out organically. It goes from that light to the darkness to that light and brings you out of it and it all evolves that way. And he knows he can trust you to get it without having to have all that, right? I'm sorry I'm so long-winded about it-- GW: No, no, look, genuinely, we loved it too. And like, that's. Being a professional, your job is to do 100% for everything that you do. I always talk to people that I'm working with and say, 'Treat every movie as if it's the one that wins you your Oscar.' 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And working with James is so amazing because it doesn't take very long -- especially with the way he writes – it doesn't take very long to tell what kind of, to use your word again because it's a really good word for this, what kind of vibe he's going for. It's not just the story or the look, it's the vibe. And it's so fascinating to work with these kinds of directors, and especially James James, that you know on day one where you're going with it. You know, the way I kind of often describe it is, you drink the punch on day one. You're hooked... Look, it's childishly fun to get to do some of these projects we do. James is very fun to work with because he has, you know he's going to go somewhere interesting with it. One of the things we tell the crew is, well, everybody else did their job. Now it's up to us not to f*** it up, because Henry shot some beautiful plates and the actors all showed up on the day, ready to give it their best. And James directed the s*** out of it. You know, all the pieces have come in at 100%, and we're one of the last cogs to sort of bring things together, us and editorial. So it's up to us not to diminish the result. It's up to us to only add as much as we can. It's that kind of thing that we have to be very cognizant of. It's hard to explain, but if everybody's doing so good, it puts a lot of pressure on you to live up to their promise… When I'm working on something, I try to figure out how to elevate it as much as I can… Our job isn't just to say, well, giant monster in a city, check. Here's your giant monster in a city. It's to try to figure out what the emotion of that scene is. The whole point of the kaiji fight isn't just from a storytelling point, it's to distract Superman so that Lex Luther can go break into the Fortress of Solitude. But from an emotional point, it's to show that Superman cares about everybody. Superman is such a noble being that even a squirrel is worthy of saving. …I'm just saying that's kind of our job is to do more. It's to not just show up and check the boxes and build a house to have four bedrooms because you ask for four bedrooms, but to style it in such a way that it just feels special. You know, one of the things we talk about often is special sauce. What's the special sauce we're going to add to this to really get it to lay in? And it's not just about adding complexity, it's about figuring out how to elevate the emotion just a little bit around the story, so that you obviously can read the story, but you're being very subconsciously told how to feel as you're reading it, you know, and that's a large part of what we do. MH: The kaiju is a perfect example of what you're saying, because that kaiju was so cute and adorable at first and likable-looking. And when it was doing destruction, it wasn't some big evil dragon that's drooling and was going to smash a kid on purpose. It was all framed in a way that allowed us to feel a different way toward it than we do toward other giant monsters, so that kind of feeds into what I said at the start about my sense that this movie is much more kid-friendly, like it seemed that at all times you were kind of thinking about either consciously or subtextually, 'Kids are going to see this.' All of those things, I think, worked and appeal not just to adults, but as you said, to the emotions of children and of the child within us as adults. And once again, if anyone knows exactly how to tap into that and knows how to hit that button in our heart, James Gunn probably better than anyone in super working in superhero cinema knows how to do that. s there any final takeaway from this film that you kind of think about, as far as for the future of DC in genera? Do you have any thoughts about, 'We're going to be doing more DC movies' and what that means? GW: I can't tell you exactly what DC is playing, or what James is playing at, because I'm not DC or James. I could tell you what we're looking at. I mean, I'm seeing what I've seen so far of their universe through Superman. So I'm eager to see what he does. I think one of the things that James does so brilliantly well is, he tells a story that we care about, right? You know, he has this ability to make you empathize with character characters. He's brilliant that black isn't always black and white isn't always white, and Superman makes mistakes. The kaiju's not an evil monster trying to step on a kid. It's all about the shades of gray and really getting into the storytelling of that. And, you know, that's what he's always done with his movies. And I'm really looking forward to him. One of the things I love about the whole DC experiment that's going on right now is that they put James in charge of it and uncaged him. Because one of the things that often constricts these kind of moments is when the studios get so involved in the storytelling that they sort of box in the director. But James being allowed to just be James. Look, once again, I'm not in charge of the studio, I can't tell you if he has total freedom or what. But, you know, on this film, he got to make the movie he wanted to make. And it shows. It's a fantastic movie. So I'm hopeful for the rest of the DC universe that that mentality will go into it. We'll see a lot lot of films that feel like they were made 20 or 30 years ago, back when directors had a lot more control over their process. So it'd be interesting to see how this all plays out… It's important to understand that filmmaking is not— it might be carried on the shoulders of something like James Gunn, but it all comes down to even the lowest-paid artist or the production coordinator, or a production assistant even, you know. Everybody plays such a valuable role in getting what you see on film… It is interesting to see so many talented, beautiful people come together and try to give the best of themselves to see a good result. And they're not doing it for cynicism, they're not doing it just to get a paycheck. They're doing it because they actually give a s*** about what they see in theaters. And we're talking thousands of people. It's also one of the most fun things about working in film, to be able to watch people do good. Yeah, it's almost like Superman. It's watching people do the best they can, to try to be the best people they can and doing selfless acts. We're all getting paid and we're all getting taken care of, but at the same time, we're doing it because we want to see good cinema. And we're doing it because we care about the person sitting next to us. And, you know, it's a good community to be a part of, and it's a good community to work with. And when everybody strikes the board just right, great cinema is made. Thanks to Guy Williams and the crew at Wētā for once again taking time to speak with me at length about their tremendous work. Read more of my interviews with Wētā about their work on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and A Minecraft Movie.
