James Gunn defends “slow” progress of ‘Batman’ sequel: “People don’t need to be entitled about it”

James Gunn has defended the “slow” progress of the sequel to The Batman, saying that people “don’t need to be entitled about it”.

• READ MORE: ‘The Batman’ review: down in the dumps with Robert Pattinson’s dark knight

Robert Pattinson starred as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Matt Reeves’ 2022 blockbuster, a darker take on the world of Gotham co-starring Paul Dano as The Riddler and Colin Farrell as The Penguin.

The film was a box office and critical success, and its sequel has been eagerly anticipated ever since. The film was released prior to the restructuring of DC’s film division in late 2022, where James Gunn was made co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran, and launched a rebooted DC Universe with new interpretations of the superhero characters.

The Batman sequel’s delay to a 2027 release date has also led some to believe the project may never go ahead, but in December last year Gunn claimed the five year wait between films is “fairly common” in cinema history, citing the seven years between the second and third Guardians Of The Galaxy Films.

Now, the director has defended the film’s slow progress in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, explaining that he is “supposed to” receive the script this month. “I hope that happens,” he said. “We feel really good about it.”

“People should get off Matt’s nuts because it’s like, let the guy write the screenplay in the amount of time he needs to write it. That’s just the way it is. He doesn’t owe you something because you like his movie. I mean, you like his movie because of Matt. So let Matt do things the way he does.”

“I am irritated by people,” Gunn continued. “I mean, it’s just that thing people don’t need to be entitled about. It’s going to come out when he feels good about the screenplay. And Matt’s not going to give me the screenplay until he feels good about the screenplay.”

Earlier this month, Gunn said that the project is still vital to DC’s future. “What Matt’s doing is still really important, despite all stories to the contrary,” Gunn comments, referring to rumours that The Batman was not wanted by the new studio set up. “We’re supposed to see that script shortly, and I can’t wait”.

Given the grounded nature of Reeves’ story, it was questioned whether Pattinson’s Batman would be part of the DC Universe continuity, something confirmed in February when Gunn said that it was “not the plan” to include that iteration of the character, with The Batman existing in its own world while a new caped crusader would be cast for the DC Universe.

In March, Robert Pattinson said he “fucking hopes” The Batman 2 starts filming soon, joking: “I’m 38, I’m old”.

Elsewhere, Gunn recently claimed that the movie industry is dying due to films being made without finished scripts.

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