Box Office: Robert Pattinson drops The Batman 2 update amid Mickey 17 press tour; Sequel highly anticipated after original’s commercial success

Robert Pattinson confirms he’ll start filming The Batman 2 in late 2025, joking about aging into the role as the sequel remains highly anticipated after the original’s box office success.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 05, 2025 | 12:08 PM IST | 16.9K

Picture Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures

Amid his booked and busy schedule promoting his upcoming movie Mickey 17, Robert Pattinson dropped an update—kinda—on the much-anticipated sequel to 2022’s The Batman, which saw him take on the mantle of the caped crusader from Ben Affleck. The film followed Pattinson’s titular character fighting crime in Gotham City in his sophomore year. The offering became a testament to the British actor’s acting prowess as it garnered both critical and commercial acclaim, earning USD 722 million at the worldwide box office. The earlier-mentioned sequel has long been in the works and won’t arrive in theaters until 2027. Here’s what Pattinson had to say about it.

“I f***ing hope so,” Pattinson quipped when Naomi Ackie, his Mickey 17 co-star, asked if he would be playing Batman again soon. “I started out as young Batman, and I’m going to be f***ing old Batman by the sequel. I’m 38, I’m old.” The conversation happened during Hero Magazine’s segment, where the former was supposed to be interviewing the latter.

The actor then clarified that though he has aged in these six years, he has become much healthier and has actually brought his biological age down a bit.

Pattinson also spoke to Variety recently about when he expects to start filming The Batman 2. The actor revealed he’ll begin taping his scenes by the end of 2025. He also shared that he knows what the film is about but can’t drop spoilers. “But it’s like, it’s very cool, it’s very exciting,” he added.

DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran said at a press event last month that the script of the venture was a work in progress, but from what has been turned in so far, the sequel is incredibly encouraging. Safran’s co-boss, James Gunn, defended the release delay for The Batman 2 when Warner Bros. announced it was being pushed back from October 2, 2026, to October 1, 2027, saying a five-year gap is fairly common in sequels. He cited the seven-year gap between Alien and Aliens, 14 years between The Incredibles, seven years between the first two Terminators, 13 years between Avatars, 36 years between Top Guns, and six years between Guardians Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 to back his argument.

Gunn has persistently stressed that no movie will go into production under the DC Studios banner without a completed script. He told the press, it is hard enough to make a good movie with a good script. It’s almost impossible to make a movie with a script being written on the run.

Mickey 17 arrives in theaters this Friday. In addition to Pattinson and Ackie, the film stars Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, and more. The story follows Pattinson’s titular character on an interstellar expedition where he takes on perilous tasks knowing he will be cloned if he dies. Things go south when one of his replicas refuses to disappear with a new iteration of him set to go.