The Batman Part II Production Paused as Matt Reeves Focuses on a Family Matter, Plus the Divisive Lanterns Finale

DC Studios Says The Batman Part II Is Temporarily Paused

Production on The Batman Part II has been put on hold while Matt Reeves deals with a family matter. Roxy and Mike are hosting this one together, and we're talking about the delay and the Lanterns finale. The news came via Dark Horizons, which reported that Reeves has to deal with a personal matter and that this led to the production freeze.

A DC Studios spokesperson said in a statement: "Production on The Batman Part Two has been temporarily paused while Matt Reeves focuses on a family matter. Matt has the full support of DC Studios. We look forward to continuing the journey soon."

According to the report, filming began in June after a long development process saw the start date pushed multiple times. Reeves and Mattson Tomlin wrote the script. For now, the film is sticking with its February 18, 2028 release date, and there's no word on how long the delay could be. Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan and Colin Farrell are among the cast. As Roxy summed it up, production has been delayed, but we don't know whether the release will be.

Roxy and Mike Say Nobody Is Owed an Explanation

Roxy said things have been hard for her in a lot of ways recently. When someone is vulnerable enough to say a project has to pause because of something personal, she said, it isn't his obligation or our right to know what it is. Watching people online demand the movie now, or say the studio should hire somebody else, left her saying she hates it.

Mike pointed out there were issues before filming started, a family matter that paused things then too. He believes it's most likely a medical matter in the family. If the film ended up cancelled, he said, "oh well," because "That's so much more important than a movie." Reading comments under some Hollywood Reporter posts, he said, "there just truly are terrible people in this world."

Roxy has seen kind responses too, but said that should be the bare minimum, and nobody needs brownie points for being halfway decent. She did say she feels grateful the studio explained it this time, because during the earlier delay she wondered whether production was having major issues. Mike suspects a studio would rather get ahead of things than have leaks spread. Both agreed that we're not owed an answer or a reason.

Speculation Is Human Nature, but Posting It Is Different

Roxy has seen plenty of online guessing, such as people noting Reeves seemed healthy on set. Wondering privately if he's okay is one thing, she said, but posting "here are five things I think it could be" is strange. She stressed it's still okay to want to see the film: "The point of art is to bring us closer together, right? So, how are we going to let art separate us?"

Mike said the reaction didn't surprise him, including people complaining that we'll never get the DCU Batman because it's waiting on this film. Calling himself the biggest Batman guy in the world, he said that if the movie were shelved because its creatives weren't in a place to continue, he'd simply hope everyone was okay.

Could the Pause Affect the DCU Batman?

Roxy thinks that, in months to come, this will affect DC timelines. She thinks the studio has been circling an announcement for the DCU Batman, who she doesn't think is Robert Pattinson, and said it's possible this could affect that. Mike said he thinks Pattinson said within the past couple of weeks that he didn't want to do that.

Mike noted that Skydance put out a press release listing James Gunn and Peter Safran as the heads of DC Studios. He thinks they need to push forward with Batman and Wonder Woman and make clear the Reeves films are separate from the current continuity, adding that he thinks the audience is smart enough to handle two Batman. Roxy pushed back: this is the same audience attacking Reeves. Mike clarified he meant general audiences, not the Twitter bubble.

Roxy tied this to Social Reckoning, which she has seen but can't discuss yet, and to how social media algorithms can push people toward extremes. She described bubbles within bubbles where people start to think Twitter is real life. Her caveat: general audiences are smart, but specific fandoms can be toxic.

Roxy Thought the Lanterns Finale Was So Good

Roxy watched the finale alone, posted an excited reaction calling it so good, and only later found people tweeting at her. She hadn't realized anyone disliked it. She thought it was innovative and cool, was excited by where things ended with John, and liked that it didn't backtrack.

Mike loved the show and knew there was never going to be a giant CGI battle. Learning that Carrie shot Hal shocked him. Roxy said the creators credited the actress afterward, and she thinks Mundy noted there were only six people it could be. She never suspected her for one second.

Mike Defends John Stewart's Oath

Mike thinks people expected a traditional big fight, but that came in episode five after the Rushville incident. The show was two stories, the Manhunter on Earth and who killed Hal. He compared it to Captain America: Civil War, where his favorite scene is Steve and Tony talking in a glass box, and Roxy agreed. It was also said on the show that John is one of the most fleshed out characters in the DCU, more so than Superman, heading into Man of Tomorrow.

On John changing the oath, Mike said it's established in canon that lanterns sometimes create their own oaths. John rejected the Guardians and didn't want the ring for 10 years, so it works for him. His one gripe: he'd have liked to see John construct his own suit, though he said Mundy explained online that it would have taken away from the moment.

Roxy needed the murder mystery to stick the landing, and felt it did, calling the reveal earned. She also needed to know who the Green Lantern would be going forward. Maybe some wanted a space show or a Hal Jordan series, she said, but she doesn't think it's fair to call a show bad for not being what we wanted. Mike also praised how it finally explained the multiple Earth lanterns: Hal retired, John didn't want the ring, Guy got it, and then John took it back.

PLLD Says the Lanterns Finale Won Him Over

PLLD liked the finale, and he admitted he didn't start out that way. After the first trailer he wasn't hyped for Lanterns because he wanted the space show. But he said "it didn't lie. It told you exactly what it is," and he got into the characters. By the end he thought it was "the best kind of finale you could have had": an emotional one, with Hal Jordan at his best and John Stewart becoming the John Stewart who will be part of the DCU. He also said he didn't know why anyone expected a big finale battle anyway.

Roxy called it a fair take. It wasn't the show PLLD wanted, but he didn't think it was a bad show, and he said it won him over too. Mike added a point about the general audience versus the Twitter bubble. The people he was with in Texas aren't on Twitter and don't know the discourse; they just watch and love it. His parents got hooked because HBO built it like True Detective, which they love, and they like Kyle Chandler. A buddy his age who knows the comics a little loves it too. None of them are upset about not seeing all the aliens, he said. They're just enjoying a good show.

Is Lanterns Doing What DC Wanted It To Do?

One question raised on the show was whether Lanterns is doing what Warner Bros. and DC want: probably making them money, getting people hyped for season 2, putting more people in seats for Man of Tomorrow and selling John Stewart and Hal Jordan action figures. The answer offered was that it's probably the former, with the caveat that the loud discourse around every property makes it hard to tell what's real. From what was heard, the viewership is pretty decent.

One closing note on the show was a hope that we get more Hal, with Kyle Chandler called easily a favorite. The thinking on the show was that the makers couldn't have known how much the audience would react to the two leads, but there's room for Hal to return. Sinestro says he knows how to bring him back, and even if that isn't literal, John can access him now, with the memory banks and Oa as possible routes.

That led to a comparison with Kristen Milioti, whom audiences love, and the belief on the show that she isn't in The Batman Part II because its script was being written while The Penguin was airing. It was also shared, from people at Warner Bros., that quite a few executives reportedly didn't like her when they watched the dailies and didn't understand what she was doing. The same was apparently heard about Aaron Pierre, with executives calling him too bland and too stoic.

Mike Would Build Transformers Through G.I. Joe

One question cited Deadline as saying Steven Spielberg is coming back to Transformers, with Michael Bay in negotiation to direct. Asked if Bay would be a major negative, Mike said Transformers was always a distant property for him; he was more of a G.I. Joe, He-Man and M.A.S.K. guy. He liked the first film and thinks that, watched now, the CGI is incredible. He thinks Travis Knight's version of Bumblebee at the start of that movie was more of what it should have been, and he doesn't know what's left to say after six or seven films.

His idea instead: G.I. Joe is going forward with Danny McBride and Bradley Cooper, and he thinks it will get fast tracked now that the merger is done. He'd make a couple of G.I. Joe movies and then bring in Transformers, noting that a G.I. Joe and Transformers project had been scuttled. That, he said, could get you a billion dollar box office.

Roxy and Mike Answer the Hal Jordan Complaint

Frank wrote that he liked Lanterns but was bummed it skipped Hal's journey, and that at times it felt like a show written first with an IP added later. Roxy said it's fair to be bummed if you wanted Hal's journey, but she didn't feel the IP was added after. Even though it wasn't a space cop show, it felt at the core of the lanterns, getting the heart, the responsibility and what they are there for.

Mike said he gets it, but sees this as John's journey: they knew John would be the lantern of the DCU, and we still got a lot of Hal. As a Hal Jordan guy, Hal is probably his second favorite character outside of Batman. He loved this take on the character and wants to see more of him, which for him is the downside.

The Lore Is There, Even If Lanterns Stayed Grounded

Eric wrote that the show seemed to want to avoid being a Green Lantern show, playing like a deconstruction rather than building it up, though he's excited for season 2. The response on the show was that the lore is still there: the other lanterns and Abin Sur are mentioned, the characters went into space and saw Sinestro, but they kept it grounded and left the door open for more to feel natural. A wish was also voiced for TV Lanterns to focus on Hal and Sinestro in the past, with John and Guy as the movie lanterns.

Someone online, it was noted, made a really good point about Sinestro forging his own broken lantern with gold in it. That could foreshadow a yellow lantern, but it also recalls a Japanese art form where cracks are filled with gold so you see the imperfections, which was called a cool touch if that's what they did.

Finale Exposition, Manhunters and Sinestro's Look

James Wheeler liked the season but not the finale, citing too much exposition in episode 8. Roxy said that interested her, since most people she saw online who disliked the finale hated the whole show. It was noted that most finales build to something big, and this wasn't that. On whether TV series are harder to finish, recent writing experience suggests the second act of a movie is the challenge, while with a series the ending is much harder.

On a complaint that the Manhunters weren't explained, the reply was that the show said the Guardians created them to police the universe and realized they didn't work. When Nathan Drake argued Mark Strong was the better Sinestro, Roxy said she didn't feel that way and thought this Sinestro was menacing, and it was also said on the show that he looked scary. A wish to see the Manhunters in their true comics form, though, was called a valid complaint.

Did the Lanterns finale work for you, or did you want a bigger final battle?