Production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily halted as director Matt Reeves steps away to deal with a family matter, Warner Bros. and DC Studios said.

“Production on ‘The Batman Part II’ has been temporarily paused while Matt Reeves focuses on a family matter,” a representative said. “Matt has the full support of DC Studios and we look forward to continuing the journey soon.”

Robert Pattinson will return as Batman in the highly anticipated sequel, which has faced several delays since the original film was released in March 2022.

The film was initially scheduled for release on 2 October 2026 before being pushed to 1 October 2027. In July, Warner Bros. delayed it again, moving the release to February 2028.

The sequel also stars Scarlett Johansson, Colin Farrell, Sebastian Stan, Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright.

DC Studios co-chief James Gunn previously defended the delays, saying long gaps between major franchise sequels are relatively common.

In a recent interview with Collider, Pattinson described the sequel as a “completely different take” on the Batman story.

“It’s so ambitious,” he said, adding that the film takes a “real left turn” from the first instalment while retaining elements of its tone.

Reeves directed the first The Batman, which starred Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and was released in 2022.