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The director, whose credits include “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Traffic” and most recently “Black Bag,” will work on the highly anticipated sequel, which will see Robert Pattinson return to the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, this time alongside Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan.
Warner Bros. said in a statement: “As Matt Reeves continues to deal with an ongoing family issue, 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 with the cast and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision for the film.”
Soderbergh said in an official statement: “I thought Matt Reeves’ work on ‘The Batman’ was amazing; it was deliberate, specific and very clear.”
Reeves tweeted, “Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II. I am extremely grateful to Steven for coming to my aid during this challenging time to help me complete principal photography. Thank you all for your concern and well wishes.”
“The Batman: Part II” follows 2022’s “The Batman,” which saw Pattinson play Bruce Wayne in his second year “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 comic book arc “The Long Halloween”. It made $772.3 million worldwide and established a new corner of the DC Universe, with “The Penguin” series starring Farrell continuing on HBO.
Returning for the sequel are cast members Andy Serkis, Farrell, Jeffrey Wright and Jayme Lawson, with newcomers including Charles Dance, Sebastian Koch, Brian Tyree Henry. Writer Michael Giacchino will also be back, with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt stepping in for Greg Fraser (who shoots all four Beatles films 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 the mini-heist film “The Christophers,” which Neon released earlier this year. He has also shot the 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 release date of February 18, 2028.
