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DC Comics fans will need to start clearing their schedule. DC Studios Co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn have a growing slate of projects planned for their first phase of the DC Comics cinematic universe, or simply, the DCU. The first chapter of the franchise, titled “Gods and Monsters,” has already seen the release of the animated series Creature Commandos, a new theatrical Superman, and the second season of the John Cena-led Peacemaker. Fans can still look forward to seeing a new Green Lantern HBO series, a Supergirl movie, and Gunn announced via his Instagram that a new movie featuring Superman, Man of Tomorrow, is slated for a 2027 release. But as Jim Gordon has said on many cold nights waiting next to the Bat-Signal, “Where is Batman?”
Since the DCU will be a shared universe, Batman‘s arrival is an inevitability, but with an actor not yet (publicly) cast, fans of Batman and his Bat family are wondering when they can expect to see him glare suspiciously at his superfriends. It may seem like The Dark Knight is conspicuously missing from the lineup, but there are actually multiple projects centered on Batman and his stomping grounds of Gotham City. Between animated originals and his impending live-action arrival in the DCU, there will be no shortage of Batman in the coming years, and the hype for these upcoming films is already building. In anticipation of all the Bat-action, we’ll dive into what Batman movies to expect and how much hype each one is carrying with it.
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‘Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires’
Release Date: September 18, 2025
The Dark Knight receives an ancient makeover in Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires. The Elseworlds story will follow Yohualli Coatl (Horacio Garcia Rojas), a young boy of Aztec nobility, who will grow to wear the mantle of Batman after Spanish conquistadors murder his father. During his quest for justice and revenge, Batman will also cross paths with Aztec versions of the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and many more in a storyline that promises to incorporate various aspects of Batman’s established lore.
Batman is a character who lends himself well to other time periods, such as the Victorian era, Gotham by Gaslight, and feudal Japan-set Batman Ninja. Although the premise of Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires is intriguing, the news cycles surrounding developments in the DCU drew more hype away, lowering the awareness of the animated feature. Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires will receive a theatrical premiere in Mexico on September 18, followed by a U.S. release on HBO Max the following day.
4
‘Dynamic Duo’
Release Date: June 30, 2028
Two Robins are better than one in the upcoming animated film, Dynamic Duo. The film will follow the adventures of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, two former Robins, as their friendship is tested by different dreams for their future. Previously, Gunn had explained how DCU canon would work, where an actor would portray both the live-action and animated versions of a character, but it has yet to be confirmed if Dyanmic Duo is one of those titles where that plan will apply. With no plot information released, it’s still unclear if Dynamic Duo will feature Dick and Jason as alternative versions of Robin, or if they’ll be represented as their later characters, Nightwing and Red Hood.
Dynamic Duo is produced by Matt Reeves, with the visuals under the care of New Orleans-based animation studio Swaybox. Arthur Mintz, a co-founder of Swaybox, is directing the film, which is to feature the studio’s animation technique called “Momo Animation,” where elements of stop-motion, CGI, and live-action performance are combined. Little has been seen of the film, but those who were fortunate enough to see a brief clip of animation at Warner Bros. 2025 CinemaCon Showcase mentioned comparisons to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in terms of groundbreaking animation. While many details regarding Dynamic Duo are still unknown, it has been confirmed that the film will be one of the rare DC animated movies to get a wide theatrical release, joining the ranks of films like Teen Titans Go! to the Movies and DC League of Super-Pets. Expect the hype for Dynamic Duo to rapidly increase closer to the planned premiere date of June 30, 2028.
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‘Clayface’
Release Date: September 11, 2026
Longtime Batman fans are familiar with Clayface, the monstrous villain who can manipulate his body into any person or shape, but the character is about to receive a higher profile via his own movie, titled Clayface. The story of the movie is still largely under wraps, but Clayface will be an R-rated horror movie following actor Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) as he goes down the path from man to monster in a desperate effort to heal his disfigured face. Horror fans will be excited to know Mike Flanagan, of The Haunting of Hill House fame, wrote the script for Clayface; however, he won’t be directing, as he is busy working on a Carrie television series for Amazon. James Watkins, whose previous credits include horror films like Eden Lake and, most recently, the 2024 remake of Speak No Evil, is directing Clayface, which is currently shooting in Liverpool.
Photos from the set reveal a battered and bandaged Harries as Hagen, clearly a precursor to a larger transformation on the horizon. By offering Clayface, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker Season 2 so early into the DCU’s timeline, whether it’s intentional or not, there is a tone set that the DCU is not exclusively catering to the all-ages crowd. Which is fine, because, much like in a comic book store, there are selections for all age groups on the shelf. As long as the PG-13 movies can easily be understood by the younger viewers who might miss context from not watching the adult-oriented product, everything should run smoothly. Horror and comic books are an exciting combination, and ideally, this is the start of more to come. Clayface is expected to ooze its way into theaters on September 11, 2026.
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‘The Brave and the Bold’
Expected Release Date: 2028–2029
One of the most anticipated projects for the DCU’s upcoming schedule is The Brave and the Bold. The film will use famed comic book writer Grant Morrison‘s excellent run on Batman comics as the inspiration point for a story about an older Batman who learns of his son, Damian Wayne. It hasn’t been confirmed, but audiences can expect to see Damian’s mother, Talia al Ghul, and his grumpy grandpa, Ra’s al Ghul. Those are all major characters to introduce, and fan speculation on casting is still the more intriguing topic of conversation over plot details. Andy Muschietti, whose previous work includes It and The Flash, is still linked to the film to direct, but major details regarding the film remain unknown.
Two Batman movies, regardless of whether they exist within the same world or not, could be problematic if released too close together. Thankfully, it does appear that everyone involved in making the Brave and the Bold wishes to avoid the cinematic version of a Starbucks opening up across from a Starbucks. However, with The Batman Part II tentatively set to release in 2027, it would imply that audiences would be waiting until at least 2028 to see a movie starring the DCU’s version of Batman. It’s not the worst-case scenario, because there are so many DC characters that could be built up in the meantime, but Bat-fans might get “bat-antsy” if they wait too long for the bat-movie. Hype can be a double-edged sword, and The Brave and the Bold has plenty.
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‘The Batman Part II’
Release Date: October 1, 2027
Although the future for the Batman sequel was murky, The Batman Part II is officially underway with a release date nailed down. The major players are scheduled to return, with Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb, and Andy Serkis as the faithful Alfred Pennyworth. Matt Reeves will return to the director’s chair to continue the story, taking place after the events of The Batman and The Penguin. There is yet to be a confirmed villain for the story, but fans can assume that with Oz as the new kingpin of crime in Gotham, he’ll likely have a vested interest in the vigilante’s next moves to clean the streets.
The Batman is divisive among fans who fall into camps of whether they do or do not accept Pattinson in the role, and hopefully, The Batman Part II addresses that to some degree. Not an overhaul of the character, not some magical redesign that will make everyone forget Pattinson was once a sparkly vampire, but an evolution of the character. If the Bruce Wayne from The Batman seemed too far a departure from how he’s typically represented, maybe in the sequel, the audience sees him refine his public image. No specific story details have emerged, which is not surprising considering the ink is basically still drying on the page, but the reaction to the script has been positive. For any of the fans who highly enjoyed The Batman and the HBO follow-up, The Penguin, then The Batman Part II has the most hype behind it. The Batman Part II is scheduled to hit theaters on October 1, 2027.
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