Summary
The delays to Matt Reeves’The Batman Part 2are becoming intolerable. DC Studios Co-Head James Gunn once tweeted that 5-year gaps are “fairly common in sequels.” While that may or may not be true, what’s surely uncommon are 15-year gaps between assumed ages of actors and the young adult characters they play. Robert Pattinsonrecently toldHero Magazinethat he’ll “be f****ng old Batman by the sequel.” He’s completely correct. Someone has to say it, because fans aren’t sure Gunn and company understand: Robert Pattinson is not actually a vampire. He will age.
In Reeves’The Batman, Pattinson plays Bruce Wayne during his second year fighting crime, still fumbling and heavy on his feet. In 2019, Pattinson was 33 years old and relatively youthful while filming the first installment in Reeves' proposed Batman trilogy. With Reeves being a known perfectionist, it’s anyone’s guess how he will handle this discrepancy. As Warner Bros. further delays the sequel,which is now expected toward the end of 2027, Pattinson will be well past his young adulthood. This fact presents a host of hurdles for Writer-Director Reeves to clear while depicting a second-year Batman.
Robert Pattinson Is Way Older Than A Young Batman Traditionally Is
You Can’t Teach An Old Bat New Tricks
For context, Batman hit the Gotham streets at age 25 in the comics, which is only slightly older than Pattinson was when he starred in 2008’sTwilight. In Frank Miller’s graphic novelThe Dark Knight Returns, Batman is 55 years old after a decade of retirement, meaning he was 45 when he quit.
Robert Pattinson will be 41 duringThe BatmanPart 2’s production. This is shocking, as Christian Bale was younger than Pattinson currently iswhile Bale filmedThe Dark Knight Rises- even after Batman’s 8-year sabbatical in that film. How will Reeves address this issue?
Well, he’s got a couple of options. He could either jump forward in time to compensate for the extra wrinkles on Pattinson’s face, or he could simply ignore the aging Bruce Wayne, hoping audiences aren’t distracted by Batmanwincing out of seated positions for the film’s duration. He could also use some de-aging tech, butBack To The FutureDirector Robert Zemeckis has been attempting to de-age his subjects since 1992’sDeath Becomes Her, and he recently disturbed audiences with his latest attempt in 2024’sHerestarring a ‘young’ Tom Hanks. De-aging tech may be up to par in nearly three years whenThe Batman Part 2finally releases, but it isn’t right now.
He could simply ignore the aging Bruce Wayne, hoping audiences aren’t distracted by Batman wincing out of seated positions for the film’s duration.
Now, Reeves did technically confirm a time jump forThe Batman Part 2, but not the kind of time jump fans would expect given the real-world wait for the sequel. In an interview with Total Film Magazine, Reeves said the sequel will take place after a jump in time following the first film, but only to account for Max’sThe Penguin,which takes place a mere seven days afterThe Batmanends. InThe Penguin’s timeline, Carmine and Alberto Falcone die in November 2022, leading to Oswald Cobblepot’s takeover within the month following. Reeves saidThe Batman Part 2will take place a week afterThe Penguin,meaning not much time passes betweenThe BatmanParts 1 and 2.
DiscussingThe Penguin’s timeline, Reeves said “we don’t play Christmas or New Year’s, but we’re getting there,” according to hisinterview withCollider. As intriguing as that may be for story purposes, there have already been three real-world Christmases sinceThe Batman’s 2022 setting, with at least two more to come until that story continues. What’s more, a month of elapsed timedoes not explain the progress of any man going from his early 30’s to 41 years old, not even Batman.
In Matt Reeves We Trust
The Very Long Halloween
Fans may just have to trust that Matt Reeves will honor Bruce’s perceived aging in the next film. Perhaps the rapid wear and tear on Bruce will be attributed to the stress of his position, similar to the way presidents are known to age at hyper-pace during their terms. There could be some merit to this, as Batman was heavily influenced byThe Long Halloween, a graphic novel-turned DC Animation by Jeph Loeb, according to DC’s Tim Sheridan. Fans familiar withThe Long Halloween, who are most likely to note Pattinson’s age, are aware that Batman goes through hell throughout that particular holiday season, which also takes place during Batman’s second year of crime-fighting.
In that story, Batman faces off withThe Holiday Killer, who turns out to be Alberto Falcone, the same Alberto thatCobblepot kills in the first episode ofThe Penguin. InThe Long Halloween, Alberto is responsible for the monstrous murders of various Falcone and Maroni crime family members, as well as a monstrous headache for young Bruce Wayne. While Reeves kills off that pivotal element of the graphic novel he pulled inspiration from, there’s still a lot of potential for Batman’s woe, including the absolute ringer of a villain gauntlet he’s put through by agents seeking to thwart him. These agents include Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and The Scarecrow. With The Joker also looming inThe Batman, Bruce could look a bit worse for wear, very fast.
At the end of the day, Batman is a masked vigilante who covers his face as he fights crime. As long as Robert Pattinson matures into his role and Reeves pens dialogue that sounds like vengeance personified, fans can probably look past some extra frown lines on the brooding Bat. Audiences are unlikely to see them anyway, as Pattinson’s Batman is fairly aloof.
