Nearly 30 years after ‘Batman & Robin,’ Warner Bros. is letting the Boy Wonder out of the shed and back into the movies.
To the delight of DC fans online, The Batman Part II has now entered pre-production ahead of its start date in early 2026. Director Matt Reeves and co-writer Mattson Tomlin have been secretive about what to expect from their Bat-sequel, but there’ve been rumors flying for some time now, with the most recent being that it’ll be darker—because of course it’ll be, and probably likened to Empire Strikes Back at some point—and will feature Robin, Batman’s sidekick.
If true, this will make for the third Bat-project to hit the silver screen with the Boy Wonder in tow. Also on deck are the animated stop-motion movie Dynamic Duo, which’ll focus on the first two Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd; and Brave and the Bold, which will bring in Batman’s biological son Damian Wayne and likely feature other Batfamily members as well.
Certainly a far cry from how things used to be: after Batman & Robin, Batman’s younger half hasn’t been seen in live-action movies. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy didn’t really have a Robin to speak of—Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake is a fusion of Dick, Jason, and Jason’s successor Tim Drake, but is otherwise just some guy Bruce decided to christen Gotham’s protector, and Zack Snyder’s movies killed a Robin without really specifying which. Of them all, Dick has had the most play in expanded media thanks to animated shows and films like Lego Batman, Teen Titans (both versions), and Young Justice, with Damian a potential close second thanks to several recent animated movies, the adult series Harley Quinn, and Injustice 2. Fan-favorite Robin Tim and his successor/eventual girlfriend Stephanie Brown have been supporting players in Batman: The Animated Series or Titans and Young Justice, but haven’t really gotten full spotlights to themselves.
